Cycles Upon Cycles
by The Incredible Muffin
Summary: The residents of the Koprulu Sector thought they had finally achieved peace. They were wrong. Now, the Koprulu Alliance is faced with a galaxy that was bigger than they thought. They will meet new friends, and more importantly, new enemies, but all will be forced to put away their hatreds, both old and new, or none will survive the darkness that is to come...
1. Death of a God

**STARCRAFT DOES NOT BELONG TO ME. MASS EFFECT DOES NOT BELONG TO ME. THE RIGHT TO CREATE A NONPROFIT STORY COMBINING THE TWO, HOWEVER, DOES.**

**Hello, everyone! Here's another story concerning my favorite third-person space-RPG, Mass Effect! This one, however, is combined with my absolute favorite—and, coincidentally, first—RTS series.**

**Now, since this is a seriously AU story, I just want you all to know that some things, such as character backstories, may be very different. This mostly applies to Human characters. You'll find out more later, but obviously, you're going to have some questions at the end of this chapter. Please hold them, or at least ask them via PM, because I really don't like answering questions made in reviews.**

Cycles Upon Cycles

Prologue

Death of a God

**Aiur, 2506 CE**

James Raynor was many things. He was an outlaw, the commander of a fairly large army of rebels, and a somewhat reluctant hero. He had never wanted to get into trouble, yet it continually sought him out. At least he'd always been able to get out of every pinch, even if it was by luck or with a few scars. And despite all the war, betrayal, heartbreak and horror, he'd managed to stay true to who he was, and what he wanted to be.

However, if someone had told him that he would be leading one of three armies on an alien world against a being of unfathomable power, he'd have laughed in their face.

And yet, that's exactly what was happening. Valerian—or rather, _Emperor _Valerian Mengsk, as the kid insisted on being called, but Jim had cheerfully ignored him—had appointed him as leader of the Terran contingent of a three-pronged attack, alongside the Protoss and the Zerg Swarm, to destroy the fallen Xel'naga, Amon. The alien, so powerful that he might as well be a god, had taken refuge on the abandoned Protoss homeworld, and all three major players within the Koprulu Sector had joined forces to destroy him once and for all.

While the Zerg were already united, and the Protoss hadn't needed much convincing if it meant getting their home back, it had taken a major kick in the pants to get the Kel-Morian Combine and the Umojan Protectorate to align with the Terran Dominion. The three Terran powers had hated each other for years, and aside from Raynor's Raiders and Valerian, most didn't know the extent of Amon's power and considered him a matter for the aliens to deal with.

That changed when Amon blew up Earth.

In a moment of hubris, the Xel'naga had showed an image of him literally ripping every planet and fleet within the United Earth Directorate into shreds over the course of several weeks, before finishing with the Human homeworld itself. Estimates put the number of dead at almost a quarter trillion. While no Koprulu-born Terran had any love for the people who'd set their ancestors adrift through space and then tried to conquer them centuries later, seeing that many innocent people die had had an undeniable effect.

What Amon hadn't expected, however, was what kind of effect he'd had. The Terrans had been galvanized into doing anything and everything if it meant not ending up like the UED. The Kel-Morian Combine and the Umojan Protectorate had allied with the Dominion who, in turn, had signed on with the Zerg and Protoss. A fleet of unprecedented size, tens of thousands of ships, along with millions of Terrans and Protoss and _billions _of Zerg, had invaded Aiur with the hopes of securing peace in the Koprulu Sector.

It had been a disaster. An army of Tal'darim, Protoss fanatics who worshiped Amon, had been waiting, along with similarly-devoted Humans called the Shadow Corps and Zerg that were being controlled by Amon, had been waiting in prepared positions. Hundreds of thousands died in the first hours, with barely any ground gained for the alliance.

Jim had thought that things had gone from grim to hopeless, but he'd been wrong. As his absurd amount of luck would have it, an old friend had somehow come back from the dead. The Protoss hero, Tassadar, had arrived to save crucial elements of the allied army, and gave the beleaguered forces some much-needed support.

After a quick council of war, a final, desperate attack was launched on Amon's position; the attacking force would try to keep Amon occupied, or at least distracted, while Tassadar charged his energies into the Xel'naga artifact that had turned Sarah Kerrigan into a Human at the end of the campaign on Char. With Xel'naga energies coursing through the artifact, its true power would be unleashed, destroying Amon once and for all.

And that brought Jim back to the present. Just above him, bullets, missiles, acid and Protoss energy-weapons were being traded back and forth between the two sides. After a barrage from enemy Siege Tanks, Jim had been separated from his Raiders, but that wasn't going to stop him from at least trying to put a round between Amon's ugly eyes.

A groan from nearby made him spin around, his rifle raised; thankfully, it wasn't an enemy Terran or Zerg—if it had been a Protoss, Jim would have heard the groan in his mind, what with their entire species being psionic. And lacking mouths.

The originator of the groan, just regaining consciousness, was a friendly Terran. Even better, the symbol on his shoulder meant that he was one of Raynor's Raiders. He was a young man, barely of age to be a soldier, wearing light armor on his legs, arms and chest over a black bodysuit. He was shorter than Raynor—though that was a bit misleading, since Jim's CMC armor allowed him to tower over anyone not in a similarly designed suit. He had close-cropped hair, and a small gash on his left temple—and his helmet was nowhere to be found—but appeared otherwise unharmed.

"You okay, son?" Raynor asked, extending a hand to help the Spectre—for that was what the kid was—to his feet.

The Spectre blinked, then took the offered hand. "I'm fine, Commander. Thanks."

"No problem," Raynor grinned; most of his Raiders, along with a lot of other Terrans, treated him with borderline reverence, something he wasn't at all comfortable with. This kid, however, was much more easygoing; then again, they _were _on a battlefield. "What's your name, son?"

"Shepard, sir," the Spectre said as he bent down to pick up his rifle, "Aaron Shepard."

"Well, Shepard," Raynor said, hefting his own rifle, "Let's see if we can put together a real fighting force and kick Amon's ugly ass."

Shepard grinned. "With pleasure, sir."

The two men set out, grimly stepping over the bodies of fallen Terrans, Protoss and Zerg, while trying to avoid any large groups of enemies—or worse, a Hybrid, an unholy fusion of Zerg and Protoss that Amon's minions had created over the years.

Raynor was glad that he was on point; had the bolt of energy that grazed his shoulder hit Shepard instead, it could have ripped the younger man in half. As it was, the Stalker's attack drove a shallow furrow across Raynor's armored shoulder, but did no damage to his armor's systems, or to him.

_I really hate the Tal'darim, _Raynor thought sourly, raising his gauss rifle and peppering the four-legged walker with high-velocity spikes. The shots were deflected by the Stalker's shields for only several seconds; the walker must have been attacked by something else earlier, because the shields fell far sooner than usual.

Still, the shields and armor lasted long enough for the Stalker to adjust its aim. Before it could fire, however, Shepard rolled around Raynor's side and levelled his rifle; there was a muffled _ka-chunk _sound, and then a small psionically-charged shell was fired from the underslung launcher. The ultrasonic pulse detonated once it hit the Stalker, stunning it for several critical seconds, long enough for Raynor and Shepard to finish it off with sustained bursts of fire.

As the Stalker fell, its chassis smoking and full of holes, Raynor nodded approvingly at Shepard; Protoss tech was terrifying in its complexity, but the Spectre had reacted without an ounce of fear.

He also remembered where he'd seen Shepard before. The kid had been instrumental in several of the Raiders' missions, including leading a quick-reaction force to destroy waves of Nydus Worms that had attacked their base on Char. Despite how well he'd done, however, it seemed Shepard wanted nothing more than to be forgotten once his part was over. Raynor couldn't blame him; as a spec-ops soldier, the last thing Shepard would want was publicity.

"You're right about that," Shepard said, interrupting Raynor's thoughts.

"I didn't say any—oh." Raynor's skull-covered visor was down, but the glare was still effective. "Stop reading my mind, kid."

"Sorry," Shepard said, the mischievous smile showing that he most certainly wasn't, "You just have very loud thoughts."

_Stupid telepaths, _Raynor thought sourly, this time hoping that Shepard would hear him.

"Come on," he said out loud, "We've got a universe to save."

The smile on Shepard's face vanished, and he hefted his rifle once again. "Right behind you, sir."

…

Thankfully, the main allied force had drawn most of Amon's attention, so Raynor and Shepard were able to scrounge up a decent-sized force without getting noticed. A dozen Marines, a few Firebats, Marauders, a damaged Siege Tank and a Dominion Ghost that kept shooting glares at Shepard—but she was promptly ignored by the Spectre—made up the Terrans of the group, while a few Zealots, a pair of Stalkers that weren't trying to kill them, and a Dark Templar made up the Protoss contingent. The Zerg forces stayed a short distance away from the other two factions, something that made the Terrans and Protoss feel a little better; just because they were allies now didn't mean that they'd forgotten the billions slaughtered by the Swarm. Still, it was nice to have a few dozen Zerglings, a pack of Hydralisks and Roaches, plus a mighty Ultralisk, all that weren't trying to eat their faces.

As the only one respected by all three factions, Raynor was in command of the group; he found it strange giving commands to the Zerg, and it was even stranger being obeyed, but Kerrigan had sent him a terse mental message that said that those Zerg would follow him.

"_Commander,"_ Shepard reported into his comms from his position a few dozen meters ahead, along with the Ghost and the Dark Templar, _"We've got eyes on a flanking force of Tal'darim and Shadow Corps. It looks like they're heading right towards the middle of the Zerg column. They aren't prepared for that kind of attack right now; they'll get split in half!"_

"Got it," Raynor said, waving his forces into position with a few hand-signs and mental orders to the Protoss, "We'll be ready soon, just keep an eye on—"

"_Shit!" _Shepard cut in, _"They've got a Hybrid leading the attack, Reaver classification!"_

That sent a chill down Raynor's spine; a Hybrid could do a lot of damage on its own, and with a supporting force…

With that worrying thought in mind, Raynor quickened his stride, as did his troops. They caught up to Shepard and the scouts, all three of whom were cloaked at the top of a crystal-studded hill. Raynor gave himself a reminder to ask Artanis or Zeratul what the Protoss' deal was with crystals, then focused on the task at hand.

A hundred meters ahead of them was the flanking force. A few squads of Marines, along with a handful of Marauders and Hellions, made up the Terran side of things, while the Protoss contingent had a dozen Zealots, some Stalkers and an Immortal. Then there was the Hybrid; as a Reaver, it was built for frontline combat. With its claws and psionic powers, it could dish out the pain, while its shields and thick carapace allowed it to take an incredible amount of punishment. There was a reason why the standard practice for killing Hybrids without risk of excessive casualties called for mass barrages from Siege Tanks. Or a nuke.

"Okay, I think I've got a plan," Raynor said, studying the battlefield for a moment, "Our Marines, Stalkers and Hydralisks will hit the Zealots. Our three stealthy friends will keep the enemy Marines pinned, while our Marauders and Firebats take on the Hellions and enemy Stalkers. Zerglings, hit the Immortal; as soon as you're all done with your fights, you'll join me, the Siege Tank, Zealots, Roaches and the Ultralisk with the Hybrid."

{Are you sure of this plan, friend Raynor?} one of the Zealots asked.

The best Raynor could give was a shrug. "It all depends on how fast everyone finishes their fights, and if we can take 'em by surprise. Anyone got a better plan?"

When no one offered, Jim took it as a sign that they were all on board. He slung his gauss rifle onto the mag-lock on his back, then switched to the Commando Rifle; he only had a few of the powerful Penetrator Rounds left, so he'd been saving them for high-value targets, like a Hybrid.

"Let's do this," he said, and aimed his rifle, "Attack on my move."

There was a _crack_, and then the Hybrid staggered as the Penetrator Round slammed into its shield, almost breaking it. The sudden attack threw the rest of the enemy force into a brief state of confusion; it was all Raynor's troops needed to make the first move.

Still cloaked, Shepard and the Ghost began making precise headshots on the Marines, dropping each one easily. A few seconds later, the Dark Templar had crossed the gap and began swinging away with the twin Psi-blades mounted on either end of his staff; limbs and heads were severed, and more than one man was completely bisected.

Raynor's Marines, Stalkers and Hydralisks opened fire on the enemy Zealots with a combination of bullets, energy blasts and poisoned spines. The Tal'darim shields kept most alive, but none escaped without injury; still, they recklessly threw themselves at their attackers, cutting down several Marines, a pair of Hydralisks and one of the Stalkers before they themselves were killed. The Marauders and Firebats went to work on the Hellions, the former bringing down two with sustained barrages of grenades before the enemy vehicles got close enough to use their flamethrowers. Still, the Firebats were able to shrug off the worst of the fire as they moved in close to burn the Hellion pilots to death within their cockpits.

The Zerglings overwhelmed the Immortal handily, only taking a few casualties before the walker was destroyed; the small Zerg creatures joined the survivors of the other groups and killed the remaining enemy Marines. Now, all that was left to kill was the Hybrid itself.

That was easier said than done; even weakened by Raynor's rifle and a shot from the Siege Tank, it was still standing. It had managed to kill several of the Zealots, a Roach and rip a gaping hole in the Ultralisk with just a few sweeping blows from its claws. But then the surviving Roaches had attacked; fortunately, they'd been of the Vile strain, and their acidic spit had hardened around the Hybrid's limbs, slowing it down. Things got even worse for the abomination when the rest of Raynor's forces moved in; bullets, spines and energy-bolts ripped into its hide, followed by the massive blades of the injured, but very angry, Ultralisk.

Still, even with all that, the monster refused to die. Raynor resisted the urge to sigh as he reached for another Penetrator Round; he doubted it would work on Amon anyway, so he might as well use it on one of his pets. The high-powered, explosive shot burrowed into the Hybrid's skull, then exploded, showering the area with the alien's skull and brains.

Raynor had no time to celebrate the minor victory, however; just beyond the next ridge, at the top of an old Protoss temple—or possibly Xel'naga; Raynor had trouble discerning which when on Aiur—there was a massive beam of light that stretched skyward. Raynor felt a chill go down his spine.

"Anyone who's not hurt, come with me now!" he shouted, rushing past Shepard, who had been bandaging the Ghost's leg—she had been unlucky and had taken a stray shot from a gauss rifle.

Shepard hesitated a moment, then got a nod from the Ghost; that was enough for him to stand up and rush after Raynor, several Marines, Zealots and Zerg right behind him. In the back of Raynor's mind, he was grateful for any backup he could get, but the sight of the temple lighting up like that had reminded him of the brief council of war that had been held right before the final attack.

"Jim, when I reach the temple, I'm going straight for Amon," Kerrigan had said, "When that happens, you're going to see a lot of bright lights… and then all hell is going to break loose."

That was what worried Raynor now; the Queen of Blades was fighting a god, but unlike anyone with any sense—which would be anyone who wasn't part of this battle—he was heading _towards _the fight to end all fights.

He doubted he'd be able to make any difference; if anything, he'd just get in the way. But he had to be at Kerrigan's side.

Despite all the misery she'd caused, the billions she'd slaughtered, both the first time she'd been infested and the second, he still loved her.

He scowled as a pair of Tal'darim Zealots got in his way; after all the crap he'd gone through over the last half of his life, not to mention the last few days, he was not going to be stopped by a couple of fanatics.

"Get the hell out of my way!" he shouted, dropping his Commando Rifle and pulling out his gauss rifle, peppering both Protoss with spikes. His fire was soon joined by Shepard's and the other Marines who had caught up with him. Before the Tal'darim could close the distance, the friendly Protoss counter-charged, their twin psi-blades ripping through the weakened shields, then the armor, and then the flesh.

Raynor hesitated only long enough to grab his Commando Rifle, and then he was running at full speed towards the temple again. He was so focused that it took several tries before he noticed that someone was trying to reach him on comms.

"What is it?" he asked, not breaking stride.

"_Commander, we've picked up massive amounts of energy," _said Matt Horner, Jim's second-in-command and closest friend, from his position aboard the Raiders' flagship, the _Hyperion_, _"We've got psionics off the scale, plus artifact radiation—Artanis has ordered all Protoss away from the temple, or the power will drain the life out of them. The same is being done with the Zerg; other than Kerrigan, they won't be able to survive that kind of proximity."_

"Got it," Raynor said tersely, "Power is bad, aliens are leaving."

Sensing the tension in his friend's tone, Matt's own voice softened. _"Just be careful, sir, and good luck."_

"Thanks," Raynor said, then cut the link—he and his men were at the temple.

It wasn't hard to see the fight, but it was hard to see who was winning. Amon was there, dark and terrible and promising nothing short of the end of the universe.

But Sarah Kerrigan, the Queen of Blades, was fighting him anyway.

Raw psychic power poured from her hands, blasting into the strange barrier that Amon had conjured up. It wasn't a shield, like the ones used by the Protoss or the more advanced Terran tech, but it was something else; it was as if Amon were using pieces of the void itself to absorb Kerrigan's attacks. It might have been enough to make Kerrigan feel helpless, if she was fighting him one-on-one.

She wasn't, however; she was only buying time for Tassadar to finish charging the Xel'naga artifact. Raynor wasn't sure what would happen when the artifact was used for its true purpose; he could only hope that it killed Amon for good this time, and didn't take the rest of the universe with him.

It seemed almost anticlimactic in the end; the fight between Amon and Kerrigan couldn't have gone on for more than a few minutes, but at some wordless signal—or telepathic, Raynor realized; Tassadar probably told her to get out of the way—Kerrigan pushed off the top of the temple, leaving Amon wide open.

A beam of energy lanced forth, passing through Amon's barrier like it didn't exist, and struck the fallen Xel'naga in the chest. There was a roar of pain, rage and denial, and then Amon exploded; the shockwave was felt across the planet, and even among the ships in orbit. For the people near the temple, however, there was a more immediate danger; arcs of black lightning rained down, gouging out deep furrows in the ground.

Raynor and the Marines managed to avoid getting struck, but Shepard wasn't so lucky; one bolt hit him the chest and, like some kind of homing beacon, dozens more hit him over the next few seconds. He screamed in agony, then fell to the ground, twitching.

Raynor started to head towards the fallen Raider, but a tumbling form crashed between him and Shepard. With a groan, Kerrigan struggled to her feet; since she was closer, Raynor went to her first.

"You okay, darlin'?" he asked as he steadied her.

When she was Human, Kerrigan had needed to crane her neck to look Jim in the eye if he was in his armor. Now that she was Zerg again, she was almost as tall as a Marine in full armor; she only needed to tilt her head slightly to smile at Raynor.

"I'm fine, Jim," she said in that dual-tone voice that all Zerg seemed to have, "I think it worked."

_{It did,} _Tassadar said, his voice ringing in their heads as he floated down to where Raynor and Kerrigan were; he hovered a few inches off the ground, the artifact slowly circling him. _{Amon is no more; if there is anything left, it will never be enough to revive again.}_

"Oh, fantastic," Shepard, still lying on the ground, groaned, "That means that I didn't get zapped for nothing."

One of the Marines helped the Spectre to his feet; Raynor looked like he was about to make sure that he was all right, but Shepard, sensing his intentions, waved him off. There were more important things to do.

"So, Tassadar, ol' buddy," Raynor said, raising an eyebrow at the Xel'naga, "Amon's dead, so what happens now?"

Tassadar hesitated for a moment. _{I will take the artifact to a place where no one can misuse it… until it is needed again.}_

"I thought that the artifact's final purpose was to kill Amon?" Kerrigan frowned. "What else is out there that could need something so powerful used against it?"

Even in the guise of a Protoss, Tassadar looked grim. _{There is another threat on the horizon, my friends. An enemy almost as old as the Xel'naga is preparing to return; it may take years, even decades, but they will return, and the galaxy will drown in blood.}_

Raynor shared an apprehensive glance with Kerrigan; that didn't sound good.

_{Rebuild what has been lost,} _Tassadar advised, {_Enjoy the peace while it lasts, but keep a wary eye on the horizon. I have seen what may be; you will find enemies and allies alike among the stars, but all must be prepared to end the cycle.}_

**And so it begins…**

**Now, I know that many of you will have questions, and probably criticisms, too. Let me explain a few things.**

**The end of the UED: Yes, I killed off Earth and the UED. Does that mean that they won't have an influence further on in the story? Hell no! However, this means that there won't be a Systems Alliance. Just be patient, things will be explained.**

**Shepard in StarCraft: I'll just say it now, this story is AU. Because the Systems Alliance and the Human side of Mass Effect never happened, you're going to see a lot of Mass Effect characters as StarCraft units. In this instance, Shepard is a Spectre, but the Terran kind. I'm using the default male Shepard face, by the way. Also, bonus muffin if you correctly guess who that Ghost was.**

**Amon: Since, at the time of this writing, the last part of the StarCraft 2 trilogy has yet to be released, I made up this ending, including Tassadar as a Xel'naga. I'm not completely sure if it's true of if he just came back as a Force-ghost during that bit in 'Wings of Liberty'. In the future, I will be adding things I see from released information concerning 'Legacy of the Void'.**

**Raynor's perspective: Raynor was the main focus for this chapter, but as the story goes on, the focus will shift to Shepard, for the most part. That doesn't mean that Jimmy is going to disappear, far from it; you can be sure that he, and just about every other canon character from the StarCraft games that are still alive will be making appearances, even if they're brief.**

**I know that I left a lot of descriptions… undescribed, but this chapter was supposed to be action-oriented. The next couple of chapters will be slower, allowing for more descriptions.**

**I hope you enjoyed the first chapter and want to read more, because I've been looking forward to this story for months! Another thing I've been looking forward to: the first muffin quote of this story!**

**Some muffins are just worth fighting for.**


	2. What Lies Beyond

**STARCRAFT DOES NOT BELONG TO ME. MASS EFFECT DOES NOT BELONG TO ME. IF STARCRAFT DID BELONG TO ME, I WOULD DIE HAPPY… AFTER ENSURING THAT GAMES CAME OUT SOONER THAN ONCE EVERY 3 YEARS AT THE SOONEST.**

**I want to thank everyone for the overwhelming support for this story. Not since Unlimited Justice have I gotten so many favorites and follows in just one day. Heck, I don't even know if that counts, since that was a sequel to a story that already had a large following, and most of those just transferred over. That means that this is doing even better!**

**Now, something I'm going to say: this chapter, along with maybe one or two after that, will focus on First Contact. After that, however, I'm going to put up a timeline that will hopefully mesh the timelines of StarCraft and Mass Effect, along with adding some stuff to combine the two more smoothly.**

**That said, enjoy the story!**

Cycles Upon Cycles

Chapter 1

What Lies Beyond

**The **_**Hyperion**_**, in orbit over Haven, 2508 CE**

Jim Raynor took a long drag on his cigar, then slowly breathed out, allowing the smoke to drift across the bridge of his ship. From the cracking sound behind him, Matt was tightly clenching his fist in order to not reprimand him for smoking on the bridge.

Raynor liked messing with Matt from time to time.

"How's the science team doin', Matt?" he asked, finally taking pity on his second-in-command and extinguishing his cigar in an ashtray.

Matt stepped to Raynor's side. "Stetmann and Ariel should be reaching the object within the next few minutes, sir."

"They've been traveling for over an hour now. I thought the Science Vessels moved faster than that."

"They do, but they're taking it slow," Matt said, "They're diverting more power to the scanners than the engines."

"Probably Ariel's doin'," Raynor said, smirking, "She'll want to make sure every inch o' that thing is scanned before they get closer."

Several hundred kilometers in front of the Raiders' flagship, a large, spherical craft with several panels and antennae sticking out was slowly flying towards a discovery made just a few weeks ago.

Ariel Hanson, a noted Terran scientist, official Governor of the planet Haven and ally to the Raiders, had constructed a sophisticated sensor-array to survey the system. However, she had discovered an anomaly from Haven's moon. Closer observation revealed that it was some sort of structure, one that hadn't been detected because it was both unpowered and constructed of the same metals that littered the moon.

Said structure was two fifteen-kilometer curved metal arms, one atop the other. Between them were a set of gyroscopic rings, each about five kilometers across.

When more detailed scans were attempted, it inadvertently activated the structure, though how it had happened was still a matter of debate. What mattered, however, was that the rings had begun spinning, and a blue light had shone through.

Hanson had reached out to her old friend—and some would say that she wished he was more than a friend—Jim Raynor who, in turn, had informed Emperor Valerian Mengsk. Word then spread to Dominion High Command, as well as the Protoss, since Haven sat at the edge of their space. It also didn't hurt that the structure looked kind of like a Protoss Warp Gate. The Zerg were also informed, more out of courtesy than anything else, since the discovery had nothing to do with them.

At first, only Dominion scientific personnel were dispatched, though the Raiders had come in force as security. The Protoss had also sent a few ships, but seemed content with letting the Terrans take the lead. Then scans revealed that the structure was actually some kind of interstellar highway, one that could send people out… or let them in.

That had sent alarm bells ringing. Too many times had the Koprulu Sector been attacked by outside forces, and all three factions of the Koprulu Alliance were still rebuilding. In less than a day, over six hundred ships, both Terran and Protoss, along with hundreds of Zerg Leviathans, surrounded the Haven system.

For the first two days, the fleet waited anxiously for the invasion they thought was sure to come. However, on the third day, and after much shouting from Jim Raynor on her behalf, Dr. Hanson had been allowed to lead a small team of scientists—and some security, an issue that no one had budged on—and investigate the structure more closely. If proximity didn't trigger the apocalypse—and with their luck, it just might—the team would be authorized to travel through the structure and see where it led.

Raynor had insisted that since the Science Vessel _Intrigue _actually belonged to the Raiders, and almost half the people that weren't members of the crew were Raiders or had been, the _Hyperion _would be allowed to escort them to the structure.

"Why does Ariel have to be the one to go through that thing?" Jim asked in a low voice.

"Scientific curiosity?" Matt offered, "How many scientists would kill to be the one to discover something that no one has seen before?" then a thought struck him. "Hey, how come you're not worried about Stetmann or the rest of the crew?"

"This is a woman whose people got chased halfway 'cross the sector by the Zerg," Raynor said, not batting an eye, "With her luck, that ship'll either end up discovering the answer to life itself, or it'll get caught between two alien species tryin' to kill each other."

Matt opened his mouth to refute that, but nothing came out. It was kind of true; Ariel Hanson had an odd sort of luck. Hopefully, this wouldn't be the bad kind.

_Then again, _he thought to himself, _there doesn't seem to be any kind of luck _but _bad in this sector…_

"Commander!" the sensor-officer said loudly, "The _Intrigue _is returning power to engines. ETA to the structure is sixty seconds."

Raynor and Matt both returned their attention to the screen. In comparison to the massive structure, the _Intrigue _was so tiny. Just under a minute later, there was a bright flash of blue light that shot out from one end, and the Science Vessel disappeared.

The _Hyperion_'s Adjutant, an AI installed into a humanoid torso, head and upper arms, twitched from her position in a socket in a corner of the bridge.

"_Commander, the _Intrigue _has left the range of our sensors. However, the Protoss report that their Observer is still sending data, images and sound."_

"Well, that's one thing in our favor," Matt said, trying to stay positive, "It was suspected that they'd go beyond _our_ sensors, but at least the Protoss will know if something happens."

Raynor only scowled. "Bring the _Hyperion _and a couple of Battlecruisers right up next to that thing. I want us ready to go through the second the _Intrigue _calls for help."

"What makes you think they'll need it, sir?" Matt asked, then winced at the flat look Raynor shot him. "Right, our luck is usually that bad."

Raynor turned back to the _Hyperion_'s scanners. "I just hope that whatever's waitin' on the other side of that thing ain't out of our league."

…

**The **_**Alarei**_**, System 39-Tertius**

"I've said it before…"

"Then you don't need to repeat it."

"I think I do; otherwise, you'd have heeded my advice and taken us back to the Flotilla hours ago!"

Admiral Rael'Zorah sighed and leaned back in his chair, his gloved hand idly scratching his helmet. His crew had been nervous ever since he told them that they'd be doing a little reconnaissance near Geth space. The tension had only gotten worse when a deactivated Mass Relay had suddenly turned on in the very system the _Alarei _was sitting in.

That left the Quarians stuck. On the one hand, there was someone that had used a Mass Relay, connecting it to the network and activating this one, all of which was illegal by Council law. Of course, if it was some new species, they couldn't really be blamed for breaking a law they didn't know existed—not that the Turians would care. If these aliens turned out to be friendly, they'd probably get a slap on the wrist from the Council, maybe some sanctions imposed for a while… but the Quarians might earn some points, either with the Council or the aliens, by informing the newcomers how the galactic community worked.

Of course, if these aliens were hostile and bent on killing everything, like the Rachni, then the Quarians could bring back news to the Council that a new threat had arrived. Hopefully, things would be settled without too much death. On the downside, the Council would probably blame the Quarians for opening the Mass Relay, even if they hadn't; blaming Quarians for the galaxy's woes seemed the status quo.

Thus, not knowing what would happen, Rael had opted to stay and observe the Mass Relay for signs of either a peaceful contact… or all-out war.

Obviously, his crew had not been happy with the decision. Between the fact that they were closer to Geth space than any sane organic should be, and that they might be staring down the barrel of a full-scale invasion, it was a wonder that no one had tried to relieve Rael of his command.

"Admiral!" one of his officers called out, "We're detecting something coming out of the Relay."

"How many ships?" Rael asked, fighting to keep the nervousness out of his voice; he had to be strong for his crew.

"Uh," the officer stared at his instruments for a moment, "From the look of it, it's just one ship, sir."

Rael blinked. "Just one? How large is it? No one would send anything short of a dreadnought into the unknown, would they?"

"From the readings, Admiral, the vessel is less than three hundred meters long." Now Rael was confused. A ship that size was only a little bigger than a destroyer, and it was all alone? That only reinforced Rael's suspicions that these unknowns were, at worst, curious explorers who had broken laws they knew nothing about.

"Well then," he said, standing up, "Let's see about saying hello."

…

**The **_**Intrigue**_

When the science team entered the structure, they had expected an extreme amount of turbulence from moving so fast. However, it seemed that, like their warp-jumps, the structure protected them from getting torn apart as they moved faster than light.

After the initial shock wore off, the scientists began chatting excitedly about this discovery. The award for fastest talker had to go to Egon Stetmann, however.

"Doctor Hanson!" he said, almost sprinting up to Ariel as she observed the tunnel of blue light that the _Intrigue _flew through.

"What is it, Doctor Stetmann?" Ariel asked, and the two spared a moment to smile at the familiar byplay; when they had worked together years earlier, they had always begun conversations like that. It had first been a sign of respect for their respective accomplishments in science, but it had soon evolved into a strong friendship.

"I've been taking a closer look at this field that's currently surrounding us," Stetmann launched into his discovery, "It seems that whatever it's composed of—we haven't been able to identify it yet—is actually manipulating the mass of the _Intrigue_ and everything inside her! Without this field, we'd be torn apart by the speed we're moving at!"

"Manipulating how?" Ariel asked, "Anti-gravity of some kind?"

Stetmann shook his head, his wild hair flying everywhere for a moment. "No, it's actually _reducing _the mass without actually changing the physical composition! If we could replicate the effect, we could make something the size of, say, a Siege Tank, as light as a feather!"

"By that same logic, could the effect be reversed?" Ariel asked, excitement building within her.

"I believe so," Stetmann said, "If we were to miniaturize the effect, we could make something the size of a grain of sand hit like a bullet!"

For a moment, Ariel had to remind herself that Stetmann had spent more time among soldiers than she had. It was inevitable that he would apply the theory of this discovery towards militaristic approaches. Then again, it hadn't been too long since the universe had almost been destroyed, so she couldn't blame him.

"What if this effect was applied to a full-sized bullet?" she asked, humoring him.

Stetmann pulled out a calculator from within his lab coat and ran a few calculations, muttering to himself. When he finished, his eyes went wide behind his neon-green glasses.

"Oh, Lordy… if we were to apply this to a standard gauss rifle, a simple spike would turn into a shell from a cannon."

Ariel paled. "My god…"

Stetmann gave a weak smile. "I doubt we'd be able to make such sweeping changes to our arsenal, however. It might be more practical to develop this technology into defensive shields, using it to reduce the mass of incoming projectile weapons, lessening their impact."

Ariel nodded, feeling she was on less disturbing ground. "I doubt it would affect energy-based weaponry, however; it has next to no mass anyway."

The smile on Stetmann's face turned a little wry. "So even if we did make this defense, the Protoss wouldn't have anything to worry about."

A beeping from Ariel's console caught their attention; apparently, the structure they'd entered was connected to another similar structure just a few dozen light-years outside the Koprulu Sector, a distance that had been crossed in just over an hour. If the scans were correct, these two structures were part of a larger network; without actually deciding where to go, the _Intrigue _was just being dropped off at the closest exit.

"I just hope we haven't upset anyone on the other side of this thing," Ariel commented, as she felt the smallest of tugs, signaling that they were slowing down.

Despite not being the most socially adept Human, Stetmann raised an eyebrow at her words. "It might not be scientific, Doctor Hanson, but our luck is never that good."

"_Doctor Hanson," _the _Intrigue_'s Adjutant announced, _"There is a vessel holding position one hundred kilometers away from the exit point. Exiting unknown energy field in three, two, one."_

With a slight jerk, the _Intrigue_ flew out of another structure with the same design as the one they'd entered, but was floating in space. The system that they'd arrived in seemed uninhabited; there were a few small planets and a single gas giant orbiting around a blue star, but other than the structure, there was nothing of note.

Well, other than the ship that was waiting for them. At about six hundred meters long, its main body seemed to be one ridged stem that tapered off at one end, while the other end was a large wheel-like shape with four long columns that swept backwards in the direction of the main stem. Several shapes that were almost certainly weapons dotted the ship, but none of them were actually aimed at the _Intrigue_.

"They're not shooting at us," Stetmann said, both relieved and surprised, "That's new."

Ariel nodded. "Let's just hope that either our translation equipment or the Protoss' will keep it that way."

When she mentioned the Protoss, she couldn't help but feel a twinge of bitterness; Ariel had been furious when the aliens had wanted to kill all of her people on Haven, and only some quick thinking and faster talking on Jim Raynor's part had prevented either a massacre or an all-out battle.

Still, the technology they'd lent to the Terrans for this mission was welcome.

Ariel took a deep breath and looked at the Adjutant. "Open a channel."

…

**The **_**Alarei**_

"Admiral, we're getting some kind of transmission," one of Rael's officers said, "The alien vessel is trying to communicate with us!"

If that wasn't a good sign, then the shape of the new vessel was. It was just over two hundred and fifty meters in diameter and was essentially a large sphere that had three stubby arms sticking out in a triangular pattern from the equator. Each arm ended in a curved, rectangular panel, but it didn't look like a solar panel or a weapon to Rael; perhaps it was to store equipment? On the top of the sphere were several antennae and a large satellite dish, while the bottom seemed to be a mass of smaller thrusters that could propel the ship in any direction.

"Establish a channel," Rael ordered as calmly as he could, despite the excitement, "Let's see if we can actually figure out what they're saying."

At first, there were only a few bursts of static before both ships' systems found an equilibrium. Then a voice spoke, but it sounded like complete gibberish to Rael's ears. When the same sounds were repeated, Rael knew that it wasn't a distortion; he just couldn't understand the language.

"Hello?" he said into the comms, "I am Admiral Rael'Zorah vas Alarei of the Quarian Migrant Fleet. We mean no harm. Please identify yourselves."

There was a moment of silence, and then the voice on the other end spoke again. This time, however, there was a questioning lilt at the end. Rael decided to try again.

"Please, we mean you no harm, but we wish to know who you are."

"_My name…" _the suddenly recognizable language startled all of them, _"My name is Doctor Ariel Hanson. We are scientists representing the Koprulu Alliance. We mean you no harm."_

Immediately, the Quarians relaxed; a declaration of nonviolence, and the person speaking was a scientist, not a soldier, meant that this wasn't the worst-case scenario.

"Welcome to system thirty-nine-tertius, Doctor," Rael said as pleasantly as he could, "It doesn't have a name, and it's rather close to a hostile area of space. I hope that explains things if we have to keep introductions brief."

"_Perfectly understandable," _Doctor Hanson said, _"Would it be possible to meet in person? I promise that we will keep things brief, if you want."_

Rael glanced at his officers, who shrugged. This person seemed friendly, if a little eager.

"I reserve the right to bring my own security," he said; he wasn't going to board an unknown ship alone or unarmed, no matter how nice this alien was.

"_As long as I reserve the right to bring an equal number of my own security," _Hanson said, and though he didn't know what this alien's facial structure was like, Rael could imagine a smile as the doctor said those words.

"Two guards, then," Rael declared, pleased that things were being kept civil so far.

"_Very well, but you and your guards will have to go through decontamination first," _Hanson said, _"Just in case."_

Rather than feel offended, the Quarians actually perked up. If these aliens were strict on decontamination, they couldn't be all bad.

…

**The **_**Intrigue**_

Ariel, Stetmann and two Marines waited patiently outside the decontamination chamber for their guests to finish up. A small shuttle had flown out from the _Alarei_, the name of the Quarian vessel, and had docked inside one of the _Intrigue_'s arms. Just the conversation with this Rael'Zorah had yielded useful information. The fact that he was an admiral was obvious that these Quarians were organized, and this 'Migrant Fleet' suggested a nomadic existence. Considering how often the three factions of the Koprulu Alliance moved about, there was a good chance that relations with the Quarians would be peaceful.

_Wouldn't that be nice? _Ariel wondered dryly.

As the security cameras began showing the Terrans the first images of their guests, Ariel idly poked the silver, circuitry-lined block that was sealed to her left ear. Stetmann had quickly cobbled together several portable translators on the way to this unknown part of space, but had only inputted the correct software once they learned the Quarians' language. With the limited time he'd had, he'd only managed to build four of the devices, which was fortunate; that was enough for him, Ariel and the two Marines.

"So that's what they look like," one of the Marines said, pointing at the screen, "They kinda look like Protoss."

"Yeah," the other Marine agreed, "Only… squishier."

From a first glance, Ariel had to agree. Like the Terrans and the Protoss, the Quarians were bipedal, but had back-bent legs with two large toes like the Protoss. Their Human-like arms ended in three fingers, but for the most part, they seemed very much like Terrans. They even had differing genders, if the enlarged chest and wider hips of one of Rael'Zorah's guards was anything to go by.

The only thing that Ariel wished she could see was the Quarians' faces; each had a semitransparent mask attached to a stubby beak-like helmet. From the cameras, Ariel could only see their glowing eyes and a vague outline of a face.

"I wonder what sort of functions those suits have?" Stetmann mused out loud.

Ariel shrugged, but took another look at the formfitting suits that the Quarians wore. From what she could see, not a single inch of skin was exposed. Rael's security had several plates on their shoulders, chests and legs, indicating a more combat-oriented version, but something else caught her eye.

"See the intricate designs on the cloth?" she pointed at the screen, "I think it's just as much cultural as it is functional. Perhaps they wear the suits all the time?"

"Atrophied immune-system?" Stetmann offered, "The term 'Migrant Fleet' suggests life in space, so perhaps in a sterile environment they lost the ability to fight diseases."

It took a moment for the Marines to catch up with the rapid-fire pace with which Stetmann spoke, but when they did, one of them gave a low whistle.

"Damn," he said, "that sucks."

Before more could be said, the doors opened, allowing the three Quarians inside. Immediately, their attention was drawn to the two Marines, and it wasn't hard to see why. At eight feet tall inside their CMC exoskeleton armor, with thick plating, hulking shoulders, reflective helmets that hid their faces, a typical Marine was intimidating to anyone unfamiliar with them. With their giant gauss rifles held in their hands and their combat shields mounted on their left arms, the intimidation was ramped up further.

In contrast, the Quarian guards' armor was almost comical in how thin it looked, and the small rifles in their arms looked more suited to someone whose strength wasn't enhanced by powered armor.

Rael'Zorah, who had his pistol collapsed and on his hip, said nothing about the Marines, but tilted his head at the two unarmored Terrans.

"I apologize," he said, and it was then that Ariel noticed that a small light on the chin of the Quarian's helmet blinked with every syllable, "Which of you is Doctor Hanson?"

Ariel smiled; she had almost forgotten that their first conversation had been audio-only. "I am. Welcome aboard the _Intrigue_, Admiral."

Rael nodded. "I thought our agreement was for two guards, yet you have a third escort; I assumed that our discussion would be between us."

"I'm sorry," Ariel said, then felt a twinge of guilt; their conversation was being watched by the cloaked Observer that was floating somewhere above them, and was being transmitted to the leaders of the Alliance back home. "Doctor Stetmann here is the one who created our translators. However, he only just installed the software, so he's here to make sure they're working properly."

Rael hesitated, then nodded at Stetmann, who waved a little. "I suppose we should ask some basic questions about each other's species, our governments and so forth."

"Agreed," Ariel said, gesturing to several chairs that were nearby, "I think we both want any exchanges to be peaceful and productive."

Behind his mask, Rael smiled as he took the offered seat. "My thoughts exactly."

…

**The **_**Hyperion**_

"It's amazing how much we're learning, sir," Matt said as he watched the feed that was being shared between all three fleets, courtesy of the Protoss.

Raynor grunted, his arms crossed as he leaned against the star map on the bridge. He had to admit, Ariel was good at playing diplomat; less than an hour of conversation with this Rael'Zorah guy had given the Alliance plenty of info about the wider galaxy.

Apparently, the _Intrigue _had arrived in a system that had been catalogued by a 'Citadel Council' but had never been colonized. The reason for that was that it was too close to an area of space controlled by a race of AIs called the Geth. The Geth had been created by the Quarians three hundred years ago, but had accidentally gained sapience; once that happened, there had been a short but bloody war between creator and creation, resulting in the former getting kicked off their homeworld and their colonies.

As if that hadn't been bad enough, this Citadel Council had declined to aid the Quarians in neither retaking their home, nor letting them find a new planet to live on. Supposedly, this was a punishment for creating AIs, something that was extremely illegal in Council Space.

What was also illegal, apparently, was the activating of dormant Mass Relays, the structure that was resting on Haven's moon. This law had been established when someone had activated one such Relay, only to unleash a species called the Rachni that had almost wiped out the galaxy.

_We've broken two of this Council's major laws, _Raynor thought wryly, _if we meet 'em, odds are good that they ain't gonna like us._

Rael had gone on to give Ariel a copy of something called a 'Codex'. It contained basic information of history, technology and the various species that lived in the known galaxy. The Codex had been transmitted to the Alliance and was currently being combed through for useful information.

"I feel bad for those buckets," Raynor said, coming up with a nickname for the Quarians, "Forced to stay in space for three hundred years… were any of them even alive durin' that war with the Geth?"

Matt looked at a datapad that contained a copy of the Codex. "No, sir, it looks like Quarian have similar lifespans to Humans."

"So at least three generations," Raynor scowled, "I don't like it. These Council guys sure know how to hold a grudge."

"And it's not like anyone other than the Quarians were hurt by the Geth," Matt added, "It looks like the Council just wants to use them as scapegoats for anything AI-related. It says in the Codex that they're typically regarded as untrustworthy thieves and vagrants."

"Funny, ain't that what the UED called us?" Raynor smirked, which was returned by anyone who heard his comment. "I got a feelin' we'll get along with these Quarians just fine."

…

_**Pride of Khar'shan**_**, System 39-Tertius**

Captain Naril grinned as he spotted his prey. His ship, the cruiser _Pride of Khar'shan_ and her escort of two frigates had been tracking the Quarian vessel for days, waiting for them to do something stupid enough to legitimize attacking them. He loved attacking Quarians; they were just so fragile under their suits, and there was something about the way their women screamed…

He suppressed a shudder. Now was not the time to fantasize; he had 'privateering' to do, especially when he'd been given a reason for attacking that not even the Turians could complain about.

After all, after the Rachni War, anyone stupid enough to open up a Mass Relay deserved getting slaughtered.

He had wanted to attack then and there, but then that strange ship had flown out of the Relay, and then the Quarians had boarded it with a shuttle. Whoever these newcomers were, they didn't seem too aggressive.

That suited Naril just fine. He and his crew would kill the Quarians—as 'just punishment'—then board the unknown ship, kill the crew, enslave any survivors and take their technology. They would then be able to sell the cadavers and the technology—after thoroughly examining it for their own, of course—to the Council for extra credits. Hell, the Batarian Hegemony might even be lauded as heroes for stopping another invasion!

"Are the boarding parties ready?" he asked his first officer.

"Yes, Captain," was the response. The Batarians had been preparing for almost two hours now, and were eager to be unleashed.

"Good," Naril grinned again, "All ships, attack! As soon as they're weapons are out, launch boarders! I want those pathetic Quarians and the aliens at my feet, begging for mercy!"

…

**The **_**Intrigue**_

When Rael had first shown the Terrans—he had been confused when he found out that they also went by Humans—his omni-tool, the two Marines had started raising their terrifyingly huge weapons. He had acted quickly and explained that while some omni-tools could be used as weapons, most had more utilitarian purposes, such as for communication or data-retrieval. That had calmed the Marines down, and had interested both Ariel Hanson and Egon Stetmann; he was also glad that he'd been able to clarify which of them was what gender.

So when Rael's omni-tool beeped again, the Terrans were more interested than confused. Rael glanced at the orange hologram that wrapped around his forearm and hand and frowned; someone on the _Alarei _was trying to reach him on an emergency channel.

"Excuse me for one moment," he said, then answered the call. "What is it?"

"_Admiral, we have three ships heading for us!" _shouted one of his officers, _"The design says that they're Batarian, one cruiser and two frigates!"_

"Pirates," Rael growled, then looked at Ariel. "I'm sorry, Doctor Hanson, but we need to move; we're about to come under attack."

Ariel bit her lip nervously. "The _Intrigue _has no weapons, and it'll take time for any Alliance ships to get here."

Rael nodded. "Send a call for help. If the Batarians try going after you, my ship will make them regret it; Quarian vessels can run rings around Batarians. I don't have time to get back to the _Alarei_; may I stay here and coordinate via comms?"

"Of course," Ariel said, then turned to one of the Marines. "Let all security forces know that they should prepare to repel boarders, just in case."

The Marine nodded. "Already done, ma'am. If these Butterarians want a fight, they'll get one."

Ariel resisted the urge to roll her eyes at the Marine's mangling of the name—it was probably intentional. She then looked over at Rael.

"Oh, and Admiral?" she pointed upwards and gestured for the Observer to de-cloak, "The Alliance heard every word; they're on the way now."

…

**The **_**Hyperion**_

As soon as the Quarian had said pirates, Jim had started barking out orders. His ship, along with two _Minotaur_-class Battlecruisers, had reached the Mass Relay and were headed to the other side within a minute. They would come out guns blazing, releasing squadrons of Wraith and Viking fighters to harry the larger ships, while also covering the dropships that would deploy counter-boarders.

However, first they had to get there, and that was what drove Raynor crazy. He had already suited up in his customized armor—black, with a stylized skull on the visor—and was waiting within his personal dropship, along with a dozen of his best men. One of those men was also the _Hyperion_'s chief engineer and one of Raynor's closest friends, Rory Swann.

The engineer took up more space than anyone else in the ship, due to his modified Marauder armor, but he handled the extra bulk with practiced ease as he gently nudged Raynor.

"Come on, cowboy, don't be so upset; that Doc Hanson is a survivor, and Stetmann's just that damn lucky."

"I know, Swann," Raynor said, taking a deep breath, "I just hate it when people I care about are somewhere I can't get to easily."

Swann knew where Raynor's mind was headed. "This ain't like Tarsonis, Jim. This ain't what happened to Kerrigan. They're not getting abandoned; we'll save 'em, you'll see."

Raynor took another deep breath, then nodded. "You're right. We'll save 'em, and if we can't… well, we're not letting a bunch of alien slavers get away with it."

Swann snorted, the exhalation making his mustache and muttonchops bounce slightly. "Either we save 'em, or we avenge 'em. Good plan."

Raynor couldn't help but smile. Swann was always good at keeping things simple. On top of that, he was actually feeling better; now, rather than feeling anxious, he was anticipating the upcoming fight. Killing aliens who got away with slavery and piracy because it was 'part of their culture' would be something to drink to when this was over.

…

**The **_**Intrigue**_

Ariel had led the rest of the scientists to the deepest part of the Science Vessel, while Stetmann had suited up in his customized Medic armor and had joined the security forces. Rael had stayed with the scientists, but had asked his own Marines to join in the defense of the _Intrigue_. Even with the Quarian soldiers, there were only a dozen fighters aboard; as he wasn't equipped to kill, only heal, Stetmann didn't count.

Outside the _Intrigue_, the _Alarei_ had been doing its best to keep the Batarian ships at bay, valiantly getting between the pirates and the unarmed Terran ship. However, despite Rael's earlier words, the _Alarei _was only one ship; it was also up against three vessels who were led by someone who had experience with Quarian tactics.

In the end, the _Alarei _had been forced limp away with damaged engines, but not before disabling one of the Batarian frigates. The remaining frigate was harrying the Quarian ship as it made its way for the Mass Relay; now that it was active, it was connected to the network, so they were trying to get help.

However, that meant that the _Intrigue _was wide open. A few shots from the _Pride of Khar'shan _had disabled her engines, and when it was obvious that the Terran vessel had no weapons, a dozen shuttles had gleefully headed towards her.

One thing that the Terrans had over the Batarians, though, was a better computer; Rael had been both shocked and terrified when he discovered that almost every Terran settlement and large ship had an AI aboard. When the AI of the _Intrigue_, who only called herself Adjutant, looked him in the eye and promised to help defend both the ship and him, it hadn't done much for his nerves, but the Terrans had calmed down. Rael didn't trust AIs, but he was starting to trust the Terrans; he merely nodded at the AI before drawing his pistol and aiming it at the door.

…

The Adjutant hadn't been lying; her processor was leagues better than anything the Batarians had, and any attempt at hacking the locks on the doors were met with frustrating failure. Finally, the Batarians had had enough and simply cut a hole through the bulkheads.

The first squad of Batarians had just charged through the breach they'd made when they were mercilessly cut down by a storm of gunfire. The kinetic barriers that each Batarian had were no match for fully-automatic gauss rifles. Still, the Batarians were quick to add caution to their next approach, and the second squad to encounter the Terrans lasted for almost three minutes before they were flanked by a pair of Marines and gunned down.

However, the defenders numbered a mere thirteen, and there were still a hundred Batarians swarming the _Intrigue_. Though the Terrans and Quarians held chokepoints and bottlenecks, there were simply too many to hold back. To the Quarians' confusion, however, the Terrans didn't seem too upset by this; if anything, some of them were laughing at how 'it wasn't as bad as the Zerg'.

The laughter only stopped when a barrage of gunfire tore into one Terran's knee, staggering him; when he stumbled, a pair of Batarians fired, their rounds punching through his visor and killed him instantly. Though the laughter stopped, the Terrans didn't pause in their fighting; they weren't just hopped up on adrenaline, either, it was like they had seen death so many times that they just accepted the death of a comrade as an everyday occurrence.

It made the Quarians nervous; the Terrans were tough, so what was so bad that it made their deaths commonplace?

…

**The **_**Pride of Khar'shan**_

Naril fumed as he witnessed his prizes being brought in; though he'd been victorious, he'd paid a heavy price. Half of the men he had sent to board the alien craft had been killed, and by just ten enemy soldiers! In the end, however, after almost forty-five minutes, his men had killed all but one of the alien fighters, along with one of the Quarian Marines. The remaining alien and Quarian had been captured, as were the rest of the unarmed aliens and another Quarian who had claimed to be an admiral.

The only true black mark, however, was that the Quarian ship had escaped into the Mass Relay; Naril would have to move fast to avoid the entire Migrant Fleet from seeking vengeance.

It had been quickly sorted out who the ringleaders were: the Quarian admiral, the remaining alien soldier who had worn a strange harness that had four telescopic arms attached to the back that ended in thick, slab-like shields, and an unarmed female.

Naril scoffed as the three were forced to kneel before him. The Quarian was of little concern, though there would be some prestige at owning a Quarian leader as a slave. The two aliens, however, were both more and less than he'd expected.

The first, the one who still wore his armor, but wasn't fighting, had long fur that grew from the top of his head. His face had several small cuts, possibly accidentally self-inflicted. Resting on the bridge of his nose and hooked around his ears was something that looked like thin goggles, only made of a neon-green material. Even with his armor, which wasn't an exoskeleton like the dead fighters, he wasn't very imposing; he was shorter than some of the other alien prisoners, and lanky. Still, he looked into Naril's four eyes defiantly.

Then there was the female; in a strange quirk of evolution, the females of this species looked almost exactly like Asari! The only differences seemed to be that she had cream-colored skin, rather than blue or light purple, and instead of the crests that were on Asari, she had more of that fur, like the male; unlike his, however, hers was pulled back in a braid, though some had come loose in the struggle and now fell forward. Her face also had those small goggles, only these were made of glass and thin strips of metal. Her outfit consisted of baggy pants that were tucked into a pair of boots, a thick shirt that went up to wrap around her throat, and a long white coat over that. Like the male, she glared at Naril, though she seemed to be trembling with fear.

"Quarian!" Naril barked, "Tell these aliens what their fate shall be. I want them to squirm as they get shipped off to be slaves."

Rael gave a brief summary of what Batarians did to their captives, which was then translated by the devices that two of them wore. To everyone's surprise, however, the male alien laughed.

"What's so funny!?" Naril demanded.

When Stetmann answered, Rael couldn't help but grin as he translated for Naril. "He was just doing some calculations. Apparently, it took their ship about an hour to get here. His people sent out reinforcements the instant they heard that you were pirates. According to him, they should be here—"

"Captain!" one of Naril's officers shouted, "There are three ships emerging from the Relay! All are about eight hundred meters—dreadnought-sized!"

"—now," Rael finished.

…

**Raynor's Dropship**

"_You are clear for launch," _the _Hyperion_'s flight-officer said over the comms, _"Good hunting, Raiders."_

Raynor jerked forward as his ship rocketed out of the _Hyperion_; he turned to the one man in the dropship who hadn't said anything yet.

"Tosh, you sense 'em out there?"

Gabriel Tosh, the first Spectre created by the Dominion, who had then gone rogue, only to sign on with the Raiders several years ago, closed his eyes for a moment. Raynor idly wondered why Tosh's eyes looked like they did; the man looked blind. Even without CMC armor, Tosh was intimidating; dark-skinned, with long dreadlocks on a head that was on top of a heavily-muscled body, Tosh was a force of destruction even without counting his psychic powers or his advanced gear.

"I feel 'em, brother," Tosh said in his thick Jamaican accent, "I can feel their minds; all of the Marines are dead, but everyone else is alive. They're in the largest ship, in the port cargo hold. There's also the Quarian admiral and one o' his soldiers left."

Raynor nodded, then activated his comms. "All boarders, listen up; we're hitting the big ship first. Fighters, take out their weapons protectin' the starboard cargo hold, that's where we'll enter. _Hyperion_, take out that thing's engines; I want the other Battlecruisers hitting the escorts."

He got a series of affirmatives, then felt a slight tug as his dropship and the dozen Medivacs altered their course and headed to the largest of the boxy ships. After a moment, he heard cheering on the comms.

"Matt, what happened?" Raynor asked.

"_It's the _Orizaba_, sir," _Matt said with a satisfied tone, _"She just killed one of the escorts with her Yamato cannon. One shot."_

Raynor grinned. "I owe Hannah a drink."

Hannah Shepard, the mother of the Spectre he'd fought alongside on Aiur; she'd been a Battlecruiser captain during the Old Confederacy, but had been arrested and sent to New Folsom prison. She had been put in cryogenic stasis for almost twenty years, until the Raiders had broken the prison open, and she'd been reunited with her son. Hannah had proven her worth as an aggressive fighter when it came to void-warfare, and had quickly become a valued member of the Raiders. It seemed that anyone with the name of Shepard was good at their job.

There was a brief shockwave that jostled the dropship and caused Raynor to go for his comms again.

"What the hell was that?"

"_The engines of the lead ship, sir," _Matt reported, _"It turns out that their shields don't do so well against energy-based attacks; they must be built for kinetic impacts only."_

"Hey, Commander!" the dropship's pilot called out, "We'll be boarding in thirty seconds!"

"Lock and load, boys!" Raynor said, switching off his rifle's safety, "If it's got four eyes, blast it!"

A few moments later, the dropship and Medivacs landed in the cargo bay, accompanied by a pair of Vikings that transformed into their walker-form and sprayed the area with their Gatling cannons. Any Batarians who weren't cut down by the storm of bullets wisely kept behind the cover of heavy crates or equipment. However, it gave the disembarking forces time to assemble.

"Tosh, you and your Spectres go on ahead," Raynor said, just as a burst from his rifle separated a Batarian from his arm, "We'll clear out the ship, but I want you to secure the prisoners!"

Tosh nodded; every other ship had had a Spectre inside, and within a few seconds, the spec-ops soldiers had gathered together. Tosh gave a lazy salute before he and his men vanished. Confident that the Spectres would secure the hostages, Raynor turned to his Raiders, a collection of Marines, Medics and Firebats, along with Swann. Raynor had wanted to take some Marauders, but it seemed that this ship was made of flimsier stuff than the ships of the Koprulu Sector; they would have to be careful.

"All right, boys, let's move out; Team One is with me, we're taking the bridge, Team Two goes with Swann and takes engineering. Let's go!"

…

Naril couldn't believe it; his ship had been boarded by more of those aliens, his escorts had been blown to pieces in less than five minutes, and his men were getting slaughtered! Seeing that they were trying to save his prisoners, he had thirty of his best men march those same prisoners in front of them as living shields. If saving their friends was their objective, Naril was going to make sure that he could use that to his advantage.

While making sure to keep his pistol aimed at the female alien's head, Naril also kept an eye on the battle raging throughout his ship via his omni-tool. Along with the type of soldiers his men had fought before, there were more like the healer they'd captured. These ones only had one shield on their arm, but their armor was an exoskeleton, like the soldiers. They had no weapons, but instead aimed some sort of green beam at any of their allies who were hurt; within seconds, not only were injuries healed, but even damaged armor was repaired! Then there were several in even larger suits of armor that gave them a ponderous look, but both of their arms ended in wide cannons that sprayed huge columns of fire.

"I heard something," one of Naril's men said, breaking his attention the slaughter of his crew.

"What? Where?" Naril demanded, grabbing the alien by the throat and looking around wildly.

"I… don't know," the other Batarian admitted.

{I can tell you where, brother,} a voice called out, but it wasn't out loud; somehow, the voice echoed within their minds!

"What the hell was that!?" one Batarian stepped away from his hostage and began firing wildly; one of the hostages screamed when a bullet passed through his shoulder.

{That was a mistake,} a new voice said in their heads, {We would have had you surrender, but you just had to shoot a hostage, didn't you?}

Without warning, the head of the Batarian who'd shot the hostage exploded, splattering several hostages and Batarians in blood, skull fragments and brain matter.

"What the fuck!" Naril shouted, so stunned that his grip on Hanson loosened; in that moment, she jerked free and dropped to the floor. She shouted something, and the other aliens hit the deck as well.

In a matter of seconds, another twenty of Naril's men had died, either from mysterious explosions or high-powered bullets that came from nowhere. Their hostages forgotten, the remaining Batarians ran for their lives; they weren't sure where they would go, they just wanted to get away from the invisible monsters that were slaughtering them.

Naril was the only one that the Spectres didn't let escape. A single bullet passed through his ankle, separating his foot from his leg. He screamed for several seconds, until Shepard, the second Spectre to speak telepathically, de-cloaked and drove his boot into the alien's face, knocking him out.

Shepard took the opportunity to really get a look at a Batarian. They all appeared the same; same gray skin, same sharp teeth, same four eyes set in wide sockets, same almost-Human bodies. With his curiosity satisfied, Shepard hooked his AGR-14 onto his back and began binding Naril's injury.

"You fixin' him up for a reason, brother?" Tosh asked as he and the rest of the Spectres de-cloaked and began helping the hostages.

Shepard shrugged. "He's the captain of the ship; I thought he'd have useful intel."

When Tosh nodded approvingly, Shepard realized that it had been a test. Tosh wanted to make sure that all Spectres were the most disciplined soldiers in Terran space, and that meant keeping them on the right path, not being homicidal maniacs.

Tosh held out his hand and helped Ariel to her feet. "You all right, Doctor?"

Ariel nodded. "Thank you, Tosh. I assume that Jim is here, too?"

"Him and Swann," Tosh said, "They be takin' the ship."

"That's a good idea," Stetmann said, "We can learn a lot more about the technologies used by the species occupying most of the galaxy; apparently, it's all built around the same core concept."

Tosh shook his head. "Bad idea; everyone be usin' the same technology, there's no way to cover your weaknesses if someone can beat you. Like us."

"Well, maybe they won't try something if they know we can beat them so easily," Shepard offered.

Rael asked Ariel what they were saying, so she translated for him. When she did so, he laughed. Rather than wait for Ariel to play translator, the Spectres simply searched the Quarian's mind for what was so funny.

_The Council isn't that smart._

…

Twelve hours later, the newly renamed Crossroads System was surrounded by over a hundred Terran ships, while the non-gas planets were being colonized and terraformed. The official Koprulu Alliance stance was that while they weren't interested in conquest, they most certainly weren't going to let this Council park a fleet on their backdoor. This message was sent to the Council by a small Quarian vessel, while the entire Quarian Flotilla came to a rest in the Crossroads System.

As thanks for the assistance they had tried to offer, the Terrans had repaired the _Alarei_ for nothing in return, and offered the Quarians sanctuary within their borders. The two races had too much in common, except that it was revealed that without a planet to stay on, the Quarians would go extinct within a few hundred years.

When that information was shared, the Protoss—who had had more interactions with AIs than any other species—sent an envoy into Geth space, offering to mediate a peaceful resolution between creator and creation. While a reply was awaited, the leaders of the Alliance began preparations for a battle that none of them wanted to fight.

The battle known as politics.

**And there's the second chapter! I hoped you enjoyed it, because I have a little announcement to make. No, it's not a hiatus after only 2 chapters. I've decided to do a little bonus stuff at the beginning and end of every chapter. At the beginning, starting next chapter, I will have some 'breaking news' stuff, hosted by Kate Lockwell, from UNN. At the end of the chapters, but before the A/N, I'll add in some Codex entries for various technologies, organizations, etc., of StarCraft elements, but from a Mass Effect person's point of view.**

**Now, while having either Turians or Batarians show up and muck around is a bit cliché, I wanted to mix things up a bit and actually have a peaceful contact first. Also, I like the Quarians, and feel that they would get along with the Terrans. Now, are any other Mass Effect races going to sign on with the Koprulu Alliance? Just wait and see…**

**Also, I have no idea what the real size of a Battlecruiser is. I can't find that information. I just put it at the smallest size that counts as a dreadnought, and made a few educated guesses. The same goes for the Science Vessel. I also figured that between Terran ingenuity and Protoss science-so-advanced-it-might-as-well-be-magic, they'd be able to work out a rudimentary translator that quickly.**

**Next time: The leaders of the Alliance meet the Council, otherwise known as 'The powerful meet the delusional'.**

**Mister Findlay, today you get to eat muffins.**

**Hell… it's about time.**


	3. New Neighbors

**STARCRAFT DOES NOT BELONG TO ME. MASS EFFECT DOES NOT BELONG TO ME. THE RIGHT TO PLAY GOD WITH VARIOUS CHARACTERS' FATES DOES BELONG TO ME.**

**I know that I said it last chapter, but it bears repeating: I am amazed by the enthusiasm shown by all of you, and at how quickly this story's fanbase has grown. Thanks!**

**Now, one thing that I want to comment on before starting this chapter: the size of ships. I'm going to be changing around the size of some of the ships, and some special vessels, like flagships, will be different than the standard ones, but other than that, I won't be altering much else. Various new technologies might be added later, but at the moment, the only thing I've changed from canon is ship sizes. Mostly because a canon Battlecruiser would look kind of silly taking on a dreadnought that's twice its size. Also, I changed Protoss and Zerg larger vessels (like Leviathans and Carriers) to be larger as well, to meet the changes I made to the Terrans. Not by much, though.**

**Anyway, let's get to introductions!**

Cycles Upon Cycles

Chapter 2

New Neighbors

_Hello, I'm Kate Lockwell, chief anchor at UNN. Breaking news tonight, folks; three days ago, contact was made with not one, but _two _new alien species. _

_The first, called Quarians, are apparently a nomadic race after a war with their own robotic creations, the Geth, saw them driven from their homeworld about three hundred years ago. That's just a few decades before Terrans arrived in the Koprulu Sector._

_The second race, called Batarians, attacked a science team as it was making peaceful First Contact with the Quarians. Despite assistance from the Quarians' ship, the unarmed Science Vessel, the _Intrigue_, was boarded by Batarian pirates—whom we've discovered may be sponsored by their own government—and killed most of the security aboard the ship, along with one Quarian. The survivors were taken captive, apparently to be sold into slavery._

_Thankfully, a daring rescue-mission was pulled off by Raynor's Raiders, and all of the hostages were saved, though there was one moderate injury. Two of the Batarian ships were destroyed, while the third was captured, along with some of the crew and the ship's captain. Our sources say that the alien ship will be studied, while the prisoners will be interrogated in case this attack is a prelude to an invasion._

_Even if this isn't, Alliance forces are stepping up security along the border of the sector, while Alliance leadership meets with high-ranking officials of the Quarians to discuss possible negotiations with the government that spans much of the galaxy. An Alliance envoy will be sent to meet with this 'Citadel Council' to try and prevent all-out war. Despite the promise of all three factions of the Alliance working together to safeguard the sector, tensions are still high, especially along the fringe worlds. After all, if this Council allows the Batarians to attack and enslave anyone, under the pretense of 'cultural rights', then what can they do to stop the Batarians from a retaliatory strike?_

_On the bright side, it seems that we may have some new friends, and right in our own backyard! The Migrant Fleet, a collection of thousands of ships containing the entirety of the Quarian race, has been given asylum in Dominion space, while the Protoss send out envoys into Geth space to hopefully negotiate peace between the Quarians and their creations. If negotiations are successful, the Quarians have promised to aid the Alliance with planets that are unsuitable for Quarian physiology, along with technical expertise._

_Alliance sources say that, until the meeting with the Council concludes, it is uncertain what immediate plans for the future entail, but we'll keep you informed. For UNN, this is Kate Lockwell._

…

**The Citadel, 2508 CE**

When the Council met a new species, there was always an undercurrent of tension, which only increased if the new species turned out to be powerful. It brought up reminders of the Rachni, or after the Salarians uplifted the Krogan.

Now, however, tensions were higher than they'd ever been as the Council prepared to encounter not just one, but _three _new species that had allied together and were on their way to the Citadel to make an official First Contact.

While outwardly composed, Councilor Tevos of the Asari was more than a little worried, but also a little excited. Worried, because the arrival of three new players on the galactic stage was going to seriously destabilize the status quo; excited, because the Quarian vessel that had delivered the message requesting a meeting had shown images of one of the species that made up this Koprulu Alliance, and the female gender looked almost exactly like an Asari! While Tevos had only revealed this information to a few of her friends within the Matriarchy, she knew that once it became common knowledge, Asari society was going to be very happy.

Looking across the table, she studied her fellow Councilors. Valern was reading every scrap of information regarding the new arrivals like it was all that was keeping him alive; the Salarian Union would be climbing over themselves to get a look at whatever new technology the newcomers brought to the table. Sparatus, however, was being more pensive than usual; Tevos had thought that he would want a fleet of warships to surround the homeworlds of each Alliance species and make them accept Council law.

In fact, he looked like he had been about to, until the Council read the report of how the 'Terrans' had destroyed two Batarian ships and captured a third, all to rescue their people and a pair of Quarians who had survived the pirates' attacks. When Sparatus reached that part of the report, he surprised everyone when he laughed; he had never hid his disdain for the Hegemony and the way they hid slavery behind 'cultural rights'. If he'd had his way, the Batarians would be barred from the Citadel at the very least, and Valern often agreed on the various sanctions that the Turians had passed over the last few years. The only reason the Hegemony hadn't been kicked out of Council space altogether was that, technically, they hadn't broken any Council laws… or at least, hadn't been caught.

There was one other matter that worried Tevos—the Quarians. Other than the ship that had delivered the Alliance's message, there had been no sign of the Flotilla for almost two weeks. That was irritating; Tevos liked to keep an eye on the Quarians, as they made useful scapegoats for whatever technical issue plagued the system they were in at the time. It helped distract people from whatever grievance people had with the Council; blaming the Quarians for the boogeymen that were the Geth also made people afraid, and that drove them into the protective arms of the Council. It kept things nice and tidy, though Sparatus had often said that the current generation of Quarians were underserving of such treatment. Valern had remained neutral in that argument, and with that stalemate, nothing was done.

The fate of the Quarians was something Tevos was certain to ask the newcomers when they arrived.

Thankfully, the Citadel Fleet was told to expect only three ships, each carrying representatives of each Alliance race, along with a few security personnel.

"They said that they would arrive today," Sparatus said, though not impatiently; he was still reading over what scarce information they had on the Alliance.

"Perhaps they are still adjusting to travel through the Relays?" Valern offered. "After all, the Batarians' first delegation claimed to end up in the wrong system twice before arriving at the Citadel."

"Which I know they were just using as an excuse to delay their arrival to clean their holds of any slaves," Sparatus took a deep breath before he launched into a rant, "But I see your point."

Speaking of Relays, that was another matter that the Council would have to take up with the Alliance. From the message that they had sent, they admitted to activating a pair of Relays by accident, and only set up military forces in case there was a hostile presence on the other side; considering that their explorers had been attacked by Batarians, the Council couldn't really fault them for that reaction. They had only placed armed forces outside of their space after they'd been attacked.

Tevos' omni-tool beeped, signaling a message coming from the Citadel Fleet's flagship, the _Destiny Ascension_. "Yes, Admiral Ellia?"

"_Councilors, we're picking up some odd readings coming from just within the border of the system. I've never seen anything like it; it's almost like three very small wormholes are opening up. I'm sending you a visual now."_

A screen appeared over Tevos' omni-tool, showing three lights, each growing brighter and larger. One was blue, another was green and the third was orange.

And then they appeared.

The first ship, colored gold and dotted with blue crystalline protrusions, was truly monstrous; shaped like the point of a spear and surrounded by whirling circles of metal, it was even larger than the Citadel! At Tevos' best guess, the behemoth now heading towards them was almost a hundred kilometers long! Such a thing was inconceivable; even the Citadel's size beggared belief, but this monster of a ship terrified Tevos almost beyond rational thought.

"I can see why they said they'd only arrive with three ships," Sparatus murmured, while Valern's jaw had fallen open.

It took several attempts to drag her eyes away from the giant ship to study the other two. The first was only about a thousand meters long, and was made of a dull steel-like metal. Several points around the ship glowed blue, most noticeably the large circle on the front of the ship's hammerhead prow. Near the stern, two large wing-like structures spread out, though not very far and ended in thick panels; Tevos couldn't tell if they were stabilizers, fuel containers or weapons. Large, double-barreled turrets studding the length of the hull proved that the ship _was _armed.

When Tevos looked at the third arrival, the first thing she said was, "That's not a ship!"

Indeed, it technically wasn't. Rather than a mechanical vessel, it was a living organism! At about three kilometers long, its rear was a bloated mass of purple muscle, laced with a brownish-gray carapace that sprouted thick tendrils. The creature's body tapered off as it neared the head, which was a gaping maw filled with teeth below half a dozen glowing eyes. Starting around the midsection of the creature, several thick tentacles, each the length of the entire body, arced forward, ending in thick spikes.

"A biological organism capable of surviving in space," Valern breathed, "I'd say it was impossible, until today."

"Spirits, who are these people?" Sparatus asked softly.

"I believe that we are about to find out," Tevos said, noticing another beep coming from her omni-tool, "It seems that they are contacting us."

"_Greetings, Citadel Council," _a confident voice said, _"I am Valerian Mengsk, Emperor of the Terran Dominion, aboard the _Bucephalus_. At the moment, I am speaking for all three members of the Koprulu Alliance; may we send smaller transports to dock, so that we can begin our meeting?"_

Tevos blinked, then looked at her fellow Councilors. At their nod, she spoke. "Of course. I am Councilor Tevos of the Asari. I will send you coordinates to a private shuttle bay near our chambers."

"_Thank you, Councilor," _Valerian said politely, _"I will be arriving with a small team of my security, as will Hierarch Artanis of the Protoss and the Queen of Blades of the Zerg Swarm. As the first interactions we've had with a member of your society resulted in an unprovoked attack on an unarmed ship, I trust that this is understandable."_

Tevos considered countering that the first species the Alliance had met had been the Quarians, but of course, the Quarians weren't actually a part of the Council after their embassy had been revoked. Since the Batarians _were _a member-species, bringing a team of security was entirely justified.

"That is fine," Tevos finally said, "However, we reserve the right to have our own security force present during our meeting. I hope that we can avoid an incident?"

"_That is our hope as well, Councilor," _Valerian said, _"We'll be there soon."_

With that, the link was shut off, leaving the Councilors to gape at each other. Rather than send representatives, this Alliance was so confident that their leadership had personally arrived!

"We'd best get ready," Tevos said, thankful that she had been sitting this entire time, and that her legs were hidden by the table; if not, Sparatus and Valern would have certainly seen her knees about to buckle.

There wasn't tension about meeting a new society; now it was abject terror.

…

Executor Pallin, head of Citadel Security, waited along with twenty of his officers as the Alliance delegation prepared to land. He'd seen the mind-bogglingly huge ship that had shown up, as well as the living creature in space, so the twin-engine, dull-metal shuttle that came from the smallest ship was almost boring in comparison. Flying alongside it were two fighters with stubby wings and racks of missiles, acting as escorts. Before the shuttle touched down, the two fighters flew in first, but rather than simply land, they transformed into bipedal walkers with multi-barreled cannons for arms. From the way the metal hulls twisted and shifted, Pallin was surprised that the pilots weren't crushed from the transformation.

When the fighters transformed, many of the C-Sec officers had instinctively sought cover—Pallin hadn't simply because there was no cover close enough for him to dive behind—but when the walkers didn't fire at them, they all relaxed a bit.

Then the ramp of the shuttle opened, and four men in red-and-black painted CMC armor marched out. These men had better armor, weapons, equipment and training than any normal Marine, but that was because they _weren't _normal Marines; they were from an elite unit within the Dominion—the Sons of Korhal.

As soon as the Sons saw that the area was secure, they parted into two columns, allowing a young man with sandy-blond hair to stride casually down the ramp. He wore a black, formal outfit that was decorated with medals and gold badges. His metal shoulder-guards were also painted gold, designed to look like wolves, and kept a long crimson cape attached to him. At his side was a saber, though to Pallin's eye, it would have looked ceremonial had it not been for the natural way the man's hand rested on the hilt.

"Emperor Mengsk?" Pallin asked, stepping forward.

Valerian smiled. "I prefer Emperor Valerian, actually."

"They've got translators already?" an Asari C-Sec officer muttered, but Valerian heard her.

"Yes, we've spent the last week or so streamlining the systems and implanting them," Valerian pointed to a small scar on his temple, "I believe that every Terran will have one soon enough."

Pallin glared at the officer who had spoken out of turn, then nodded respectfully at Valerian. "Sir, welcome to the Citadel. I am Executor Pallin, commanding officer of Citadel Security. My officers and I are here to escort the Alliance delegation to the Council; may I ask where the other members of the delegation are?"

"They should be here momentarily," Valerian said, "I came first to warn you that the Protoss and Zerg methods of travel can be a little startling."

Pallin tilted his head, just as two more ships entered the bay. The first was a fragile-looking thing, with thin lengths of gold-colored metal and blue, translucent fins. The other wasn't really a ship at all; it was a floating creature, with an orange-gray carapace that wrapped around several pulsating purple sacs. Most of its legs dangled uselessly, but its two front arms ended in oversized pincers.

The Zerg Overlord made a coughing noise from its insectoid head, before its belly opened up, depositing first a pile of purple slime, and then three figures. Two of them were identical; serpentine bodies, wide crests around their heads, fanged maws with mandibles that reminded Pallin of a Turian's, only more insectoid and with many more teeth. Each of the creatures' two arms ended in three long sickle-shaped claws.

The third figure, however, was both less and more disturbing. If the being's anatomy was anything like an Asari's, Pallin believed that it was female. Her body was generally the same shape as an Asari—two arms and legs, five fingers on each hand, and so forth—but that was where the similarities ended. Her entire body was covered in a carapace similar to the other creatures, save for her face and head; jagged, glowing purple lines were spread around her cheeks, and a mass of tendrils sat on top of her head. Her hands were slightly webbed, while her fingers ended in sharp claws. Her heels actually had organic stilettos to push up her height, though she was almost as tall as the armored Terrans.

The oddest thing about her—and there were plenty of those traits—were the appendages growing from her back. They looked like wings, but only the bones, and the glowing tips of each claw almost reached the floor.

While the Sons of Korhal shifted uneasily at her arrival, Valerian only nodded cordially. "Sarah, I do believe you've startled our hosts."

Sarah Kerrigan, the Queen of Blades, rolled her purple eyes. "Like your Vikings didn't do the same."

Valerian smirked. "It seems we both have a flair for the dramatic. Why don't you introduce yourself before someone accidentally shoots at you?"

Kerrigan turned a disinterested eye towards Pallin. "I am the Queen of Blades. Tell your men not to shoot at my Zerg, Executor Pallin, or there will be hell to pay."

Pallin twitched. "I don't recall telling you my name… ma'am."

Kerrigan looked smug. "I read your mind."

Before Pallin could comment on the sheer impossibility of that statement, the third ship began to act. It tilted until its nose was straight up, and then its sail-like wings extended and began to slowly spin like a propeller. After a few seconds of this, three masses of blue cubes appeared, seemingly from thin air! A moment later, those cubes became three alien figures.

Each alien was tall, about as tall as the armored Terrans. They had back-bent legs, long, four-fingered arms that reached down to their knees, and long segmented dreadlocks on their heads. Their skin was a bluish-gray, while their eyes glowed bright blue. Aside from the ridges above their eyes, it was impossible to tell what these Protoss—for that's what they had to be, since the other races had already introduced themselves—were thinking, because they had no other facial features. No mouth or nose, no that those would have fit on their narrow faces.

Each Protoss was encased in heavy golden armor that covered all by their heads, but the one in the center was obviously the leader. His armor was ornate, along with a flowing white cape, an intricately-designed helmet was wrapped around his head, and a strange, circular object was attached to his back and arched over his head. It reminded Pallin of a golden Mass Relay.

Before the Executor could begin to wonder how a race without mouths could communicate—perhaps with bioluminescence, like the Hanar?—all present heard an echoing voice in their _minds_.

{Greetings,} the leader Protoss inclined his head at those words, probably to signify that he was the one speaking, {I am Hierarch Artanis, leader of the Protoss.}

For a moment, Pallin was completely frozen; first, these Protoss seemingly broke the laws of physics by being able to _teleport_, and now could communicate via… telepathy? Until that second, Pallin would have thought such a thing impossible; now, he was starting to expect the impossible.

Valerian nodded and gave a polite smile at the third arrival. _Well met, Hierarch, _he thought, knowing that Artanis would pick up his thoughts.

{Well met, Emperor,} Artanis said in a private message; he then gave the mental equivalent of a scowl at the Queen of Blades. {Kerrigan. I hope you haven't gone and killed off another planet.}

Kerrigan smirked. {If I begin a galaxy-wide conquest, Artanis, I'll be sure to start at Aiur.}

_One fight at a time, please, _Valerian thought as loudly as he could; a moment later, Artanis and Kerrigan broke eye-contact. Despite officially being allies, it would be many years before any faction of the Alliance could forget how many of their own had been killed by the other two races. Even working together to kill a god, and two years of peace, had done little to ease tensions. While no one had an issue fighting together against an outside threat, it was going to take some serious acts of good faith from all sides to improve peacetime relations.

"If you'll follow me, please," Pallin said, unaware of the mental conversation that had taken less than a second in real-time, "The Council is eager to meet you."

The leaders of the Alliance glanced at each other again, before Valerian spoke.

"By all means, lead the way."

…

Valerian had to admit that when he'd first laid eyes on the Citadel, he had been impressed. There were very few structures this large capable of remaining functional for over fifty millennia; even the Protoss would be hard-pressed to do something like that. Even the _Spear of Adun_, the massive ship that Artanis had decided to arrive in, wasn't that old.

Of course, he'd have been more impressed if any of the Council races had built the Citadel; according to the Codex, the Asari had just found it around three thousand years ago. A short time later, they and the Salarians had founded the Council. Further reading of the Codex showed that an ancient race called the Protheans had built the Citadel and the Mass Relays during the establishment of an empire that had spread across most of the galaxy, before they mysteriously vanished fifty thousand years ago.

The archaeologist within Valerian was puzzled by that. A species, especially one that ruled most of the galaxy, did not simply vanish into thin air. There had to be clues, recordings, especially if it was only fifty thousand years ago; that was fairly young in terms of xenoarchaeology.

Then there were the Relays. Even if the Protheans had forged their empire another fifty thousand years before they disappeared, the Protoss' deeper scans of the Haven Relay claimed that it was millions of years older than that.

So if the Protheans didn't build the Relays, who was to say that they built the Citadel? And if they didn't, who did?

{Artanis,} Kerrigan's voice cut in, interrupting Valerian's thoughts, {do you feel it?}

{I do, Kerrigan,} Artanis said in a grim tone, {and I do not like it.}

_For those of us who aren't psychic, _Valerian thought, even as he was grateful that he was being included in the conversation, _what do you feel?_

Whatever it was, the fact that it was enough to keep Artanis and Kerrigan from verbally sniping at each other was alarming.

{This station feels… wrong,} Kerrigan said, {It's like it's trying to subtly influence us. Not enough to make us do something against our will, just… lower our guard. I can't explain it. It's more of an echo than actual psionic domination.}

{It is coming from the station,} Artanis added, {But it isn't a living thing.}

_So how can it be exerting _any _psionic abilities? _Valerian wondered, _I thought only organic beings could be psychic._

{The station itself isn't psionic,} Artanis said, eyes narrowing slightly, {It is more like… a transmitter, with an especially weak signal. If the 'signal' was stronger, it would be noticeable to even non-psionics. Still, I believe only those who cannot sense it would be affected, and only after prolonged exposure.}

Valerian frowned. _Nova, what do you sense?_

It wasn't that he didn't believe Kerrigan or Artanis; he just wanted to see what a Human psionic would feel.

Because she had remained cloaked since before getting off the shuttle, when the best Ghost in the Dominion frowned, no one could see it, but they could feel her discomfort.

{It feels like something is poking at my mind,} Nova said, {I wasn't really aware of it until they said something. It's like someone is whispering to you in your sleep; you hear it, but you don't consciously remember.}

{Whoever is transmitting this influence must have a lot of time on their hands,} Kerrigan commented, {This sort of thing would take years, maybe decades to give total control over the victims. It's not the Council, though; whatever this is feels ancient, even older than the Zerg or Protoss.}

_Then let's not stay longer than necessary, _Valerian thought, _I don't wish to give whoever they are a chance to try something._

That got agreements from both Kerrigan and Artanis, and then the rest of the walk through the Presidium was spent in silence. Valerian only pretended to look interested when he saw the sprawling gardens and lake—the ones he had on Korhal were much nicer—while neither Kerrigan nor Artanis even gave that much effort. Even though he wasn't psychic, Valerian could tell that the Turian, Pallin—thanks to the Codex, he was familiar with all the known races, and was thus unsurprised by the aliens' appearances—was disappointed that they weren't more impressed. Obviously, showing off the Council's opulence was supposed to be a major selling point to newcomers.

Finally, they halted in front of a large, gleaming tower. Pallin waved his hand towards the stairs.

"The Council is waiting. As a gesture of good faith, they have dismissed C-Sec from their usual posts, and request that your own guards wait here, with us."

Normally, Valerian would do no such thing; he would never go somewhere without a contingency in place. However, at a subtle nod from Kerrigan, he waved his guards to stay behind, as the Protoss Zealots and Zerg Hydralisks did the same. Artanis was one of the most powerful Protoss warriors alive and had the technology to back it up, Kerrigan was strong enough to go one-on-one with Amon, and Valerian himself was no slouch in combat. If something happened, they would handle it, even with the strange psionic field permeating the Citadel.

Once the Alliance guards stood aside—though a Hydralisk hissed at a C-Sec officer, almost making her pass out—the three leaders made their way up the stairs, Nova silently following them.

Just because Valerian was confident didn't mean that he wasn't going in without an ace up his sleeve.

…

Despite their reaction to the Alliance's vessels, the Council was much more composed when they met the three who entered their chamber. At least, they looked more composed; they didn't know that both Artanis and Kerrigan could read their thoughts and emotions like a book.

Councilor Valern, the Salarian, was awestruck; he was almost in denial over the issue of Protoss technology and Zerg biology. At the same time, he was desperate to know more about the Alliance, and not just out of fear; he was genuinely interested.

Sparatus, the Turian, was also thinking about what the Alliance was capable of, but on a more militaristic scale. He wanted to know about the strengths and weaknesses of their ships, their soldiers, and how they could be beaten. Not 'if', but 'how'—despite how shaken up he'd been at seeing the Alliance ships, especially the _Spear of Adun_, he felt a deeply ingrained sense of confidence that his people could handle any threat posed by the Alliance. On the other hand, he wasn't feeling any direct aggression towards the Alliance, just careful consideration.

Then there was Tevos. Despite looking the calmest of her peers, the abject terror she was feeling was so strong that Artanis and Kerrigan were surprised that Valerian couldn't pick up on it. The fear wasn't completely as a result of seeing a ship more than twice the size of the Citadel. There was a fear of change, of discovery that her people might not be the biggest kid on the block anymore. There was a desperate need to make the Alliance feel inferior, to put them lower on the pecking order, so that the Council could establish some measure of control over them.

It was too bad for her, then; none of the factions of the Alliance had any interest in being controlled.

"Councilors," Valerian said, starting off the meeting by nodding his head at them. It was only a short nod, just within acceptable limits of being polite; while it was unclear if any of the Council species shared the same body language as Terrans, the attitude was clear.

The Alliance was in no way threatened by the Council.

"Emperor Valerian," Tevos said, nodding back, "May I ask who represents whom here?"

"I am the Queen of Blades," Kerrigan said, looking wholly unimpressed with everything so far, "I lead the Zerg Swarm."

{I am Hierarch Artanis,} said the Protoss leader, and all three Alliance heads felt a twinge of amusement at the Councilors' reactions to telepathy, {I lead the Protoss.}

"What is that!?" Sparatus demanded, looking around for the source of the voice in his head.

Artanis stepped forward. {It appears that you have no experience with psionic abilities, Councilor. All of my people have psionic powers, as do many Terrans and Zerg.}

"Psionic," Valern repeated the word slowly, "As in, powers from the mind? Like biotics?"

"In some ways, the principles are the same," Valerian said, having studied biotics in the Codex, "However, they aren't powered by Element Zero, nor are they as… limited."

Tevos suppressed a twitch; her people were the most gifted biotics in the galaxy, and having the Asari's abilities dismissed so easily irritated her. There was also the matter of sheer confidence the Alliance had; rather than send ambassadors, the leaders of each government had come in person.

"You seem to know a great deal about us," Sparatus said, after taking a moment to get over the shock of someone else in his mind, "But we know almost nothing about you."

Kerrigan gave a smug smile. "Well, we're a bit more careful about information; we wouldn't be so foolish as to have our politics and coordinates for major systems available for anyone to look at."

{There is also the matter of you not even knowing we existed until only recently,} Artanis added.

"Then why don't you answer a few of our questions," Tevos said a little stiffly, "Such as where you are from, and what your intentions are?"

The Alliance leaders held a brief conference at the speed of thought; two seconds later, Valerian answered.

"We live in the Koprulu Sector, which lies several dozen light-years beyond the area known as the Perseus Veil. Obviously, because of your fear of the Geth, you never tried exploring past that point. For security reasons, I won't tell you the locations of our homeworlds… or any other worlds, for that matter. I apologize if that sounds rude, but we've had bad experiences with forces from outside our space."

"Would you expand on 'bad experiences'?" Sparatus asked; if something could worry a group that had a ship more than twice the size of the Citadel, he didn't want it anywhere near Council space.

"The kind that leaves billions dead," Kerrigan said grimly, and from the dark look on her face, Sparatus decided to leave it at that.

Valerian nodded before continuing. "One of our colonies discovered a deactivated Mass Relay resting on the surface of their moon. We attempted to scan it, but when we did, the Relay activated. When we discovered that it was a method of travel, one that could let someone in as well as out, we sent a team to see what was on the other side."

None of the Councilors could fault the logic in that; they would have done the same to see if an invading force was waiting outside _their_ space.

"The team first encountered a Quarian ship, and First Contact was peaceful. It was at that point that our science team—in an unarmed ship, I might add—was attacked by three Batarian vessels. Ten of the team's security, as well as one Quarian, were killed, while the rest were taken hostage. Some of our people went in to rescue them, which they did."

"May I ask what the fate of the Batarians was?" Tevos asked, already imagining the headache she was going to get from the Batarian ambassador.

Valerian shrugged carelessly. "Two of their vessels were destroyed, with all hands lost. The third was captured, as was the captain and about forty personnel. The rest were killed trying to repel the rescuers."

{That leaves us with an odd situation, Councilors,} Artanis said, {The first race from outside our space that we encountered was friendly, but by your own laws, you've expelled them from your society. The second race, one that is permitted to get away with piracy and slavery, _is _a member of your society, and attacked us. That could be considered an act of war.}

That got the Council's attention.

"We had absolutely nothing to do with this!" Tevos said quickly; war was the last thing anyone wanted.

"Then the Batarians acted on their own," Kerrigan said, "Should we declare war on just them?"

"The Batarian Hegemony will disavow all knowledge of deliberately sending an attack against you," Sparatus said, both panicked and resigned, as if this type of thing had happened before. "Though they will probably make some noise about having one of their ships. I don't see what you would want with one, though; surely your own fleets are sufficient?"

Valerian didn't need to be psychic to know that the Turian was trying to dig up information on the Alliance's strength. After another near-instant telepathic discussion, it was decided to be vague on the numbers.

"Our fleets are capable of defending our space," was all he said.

When it was clear that no more details on that front would be given, Tevos asked, "What happened to the Quarians? Their Flotilla seems to have vanished."

"They've been given asylum in our space," Valerian said, pausing for dramatic effect, "At least, until they return to their homeworld."

Again, the Council was shocked.

"You would go to war with the Geth to give the Quarians back their world?" Sparatus asked. Personally, he was glad that someone was sticking up for the nomads; they certainly didn't deserve the same treatment as their ancestors.

{We are hoping to avoid a war,} Artanis said, {At the moment, my people are engaging in peace-talks with the Geth.}

"You're… _talking _to the Geth?" Valern asked, "But they're AIs, they hate organic life!"

"If they are AIs, then they wouldn't necessarily feel hate; they would consider each action with logic," Valerian corrected, "As it is, both the Protoss and Terrans are used to working with AIs; my people have been using them for centuries, and the Protoss, even longer."

The small part of Sparatus' mind that wasn't paralyzed by surprise and fear mused that if any more bombs were dropped, they'd need a bunker. As it was…

"You use AIs!?" he gasped, "Are you mad!?"

Artanis' eyes narrowed. {Tread carefully, Councilor; the Protoss do not take insults lightly.}

"Both of our societies use safeguards to prevent an 'AI rebellion' from taking place," Valerian said, while mentally urging Artanis to reign in his temper, "From what we know of the Geth's origins, their evolution into AIs was an accident; no safeguards were implemented because they were unnecessary for a VI."

Valern looked over at Kerrigan, who had been observing the exchange with some amusement. "Please tell me that your people are sane enough to not risk the threat of artificial intelligences."

"The Zerg are completely organic," Kerrigan said casually, "We have no use for an AI, not to mention no way to make one."

"Getting back on track," Tevos said, before someone either went into shock or started a war, "If you are able to make peace between the Quarians and the Geth, what are your intentions?"

Valerian smiled, though this time, it was a more reassuring gesture. "We have no interest in conflict with you, Councilors; we've seen quite enough war in our lifetimes, and would prefer to coexist.

"However," and now Valerian's face was a blank mask, "We are not interested in joining your society. We simply wish to be left alone, and will protect our territory. As such, the system with the Mass Relay linking the Koprulu Sector with the outside galaxy has been claimed by the Alliance. We will not allow any trespass into our space. While I do apologize for breaking three of your most important laws, we are not part of your government, and thus are not under your jurisdiction."

"To put it bluntly," Kerrigan said, once Valerian was done, "As long as you stay out of our space and our business, we'll stay out of yours."

This ultimatum stunned the Council into silence for several long seconds, before Sparatus noticed something.

"You said that you broke three of our laws. I know that you activated two Mass Relays, and that you use… AIs, but what was the third?"

The Alliance leaders shared an amused glance.

"Your laws on military production place a limit on how many dreadnought-sized ships each member-species can have," Valerian said, "I've also noticed that this law prevents any other species from matching the Turian Hierarchy in numbers, but that isn't the point. The point is that you classify any ship that is eight hundred meters or longer as a dreadnought."

"So?" Sparatus asked, though he had a sinking feeling that he was going to hate the answer, and possibly die of shock.

Valerian's smile was now predatory. "The _standard _capital ship in the Dominion is at least eight hundred meters long. More powerful vessels are often much bigger."

{Most of our capital ships are a kilometer long or larger as well,} Artanis said, with a hint of pride, {You've seen the Golden Armada's flagship, the _Spear of Adun_, of course.}

The Council couldn't resist looking at Kerrigan, who only shrugged.

"Technically, my Leviathans are organisms, not ships, so they don't count, no matter what size they are. But they're all as big as the one I arrived in."

The Council was having difficulty conceiving what they'd heard. The Dominion's entire fleet was made of dreadnought-sized ships, as were most of the Protoss'—though they had that monster outside the Citadel to make up for it—and they had no idea what the Zerg were capable of.

It took several tries before Tevos was able to speak. "What is it that you want?"

"As I said, we have no wish to start a war," Valerian said, "However, we take our security _very _seriously. Any attempt to enter our space will be met with force. We'll give you the coordinates for our borders, so that you can tell your people to avoid it."

"But you've taken over System thirty-nine-tertius!" Sparatus exclaimed, before his brain could catch up with his mouth, "How is that not conquest?"

{We have named it the Crossroads System,} Artanis said, {and according to your own records, it was only catalogued, never owned. At worst, we are colonizing the system, not stealing it. As it has the only way into our space—using your technology, at least—we reserve the right to plug a hole in our security by fortifying the system.}

As Valern mulled over what Artanis had said—and that, technically, he was correct—he remembered how the Alliance vessels had arrived.

"You have faster-than-light capabilities that don't rely on Mass Relays?" he asked, "The amount of Element Zero that must take, not to mention power your ships—"

"We don't have Element Zero in the Koprulu Sector," Valerian said, "The only source we've ever discovered was what was powering the Mass Relay in our space, and we didn't know what it was until the Quarians informed us. Our vessels use warp-travel to move faster than light, and we are not limited by the positioning of the Relays; if we know the coordinates, we can go there."

At that moment, Sparatus thanked the spirits that the Alliance wasn't interested in war. The fact that they didn't need the Mass Relays for FTL travel gave them a huge tactical advantage. If the price of avoiding a war with an entity that seemingly outmatched them in every aspect was to leave them alone and not try to impose their laws on them—which would have been illegal anyway, since they weren't member-species' of the Council—he'd gladly pay that price.

Unless he found out that the Alliance was bluffing about its strength. For all he knew, the _Spear of Adun _was unarmed, and the collective might of the Alliance amounted to only a few dreadnoughts.

After giving the Council the location of the Koprulu Sector's borders, the Alliance leadership took their leave. They had stated their terms, and they would act if someone violated their borders. Normally, Valerian would have wanted to ask some questions of his own, but the Quarians and the Codex had cleared up any mystery regarding the Council. He was almost disappointed.

{Do you think we should have told them about the psionic presence, sir?} Nova asked as she shadowed them while they and their security headed to their transports.

_Would they have believed us? _Valerian asked back.

{Good point,} Nova said, rolling her eyes, {Any more bombs and they would have died from shock. There was so much surprise and fear coming from them that it almost hurt.}

{Still, this presence disturbs me,} Artanis said, {I believe that whatever caused it is something we must be wary of.}

{Could it be what Tassadar warned us about?} Kerrigan asked.

_Potentially, _Valerian thought, _we should speed up reconstruction and fortification efforts, just in case._

{Agreed,} Artanis said grimly, {We still have much to do.}

{How long until you can say that your civilization is secure?} Kerrigan asked, with genuine interest.

Artanis tilted his head as he considered it. {Before we found the _Spear of Adun _and the forces aboard, I would have said that we required decades. However, even with the losses we suffered against Amon, I believe that we would be able to sufficiently defend ourselves. Still, even with the aid of the Dark Templar, we are at just over half of what we were before the first Great War.}

Despite the amusement needling the Protoss brought her, Kerrigan gave an honest summary of her forces. Artanis had done the same, and in front of her, no less.

{The Swarm is almost rebuilt. Most of our primary Hive Clusters have been reestablished, and several new Hive Clusters have been set up. Don't worry, they're all in Zerg space, as per our agreement.}

Valerian added his own assessment. _New fabrication technologies have allowed us to build ships faster. At our absolute limit, we could park one Battlecruiser over every planet in the Dominion, but we're still down about thirty percent of what we were before the Zerg began the campaign to kill my father. On the bright side, our ground forces are ninety percent replenished; the reforms I've made since I assumed the throne have inspired many citizens to enlist._

{So not being a manipulative bastard who enslaves his own people has merit,} Kerrigan commented, {And I thought Arcturus was smart.}

Valerian didn't feel offense at the jab towards his late father; Arcturus had been a terrible man and a worse father. Under his leadership, the Dominion might have improved, but it was ruled by fear. By being an Emperor whom people _wanted _to follow, Valerian didn't have to divert resources to keeping his citizens under his thumb; they still followed his laws, but that was because there was now more benefit to being a law-abiding citizen.

_Still, we're all rebuilding, while the Council hasn't had to, _he thought, _if they knew that we were in a post-war situation, they might try something as an excuse to gain our technologies, or at least discover exploitable weaknesses._

{Let them try,} Kerrigan snarled, as they all boarded their transports and began heading home, {We beat the Hybrid, and we beat Amon. We're not going to lose because of a bunch of stuck-up bureaucrats.}

{It is not them I fear, Kerrigan,} Artanis said gravely, {but whatever truly controls the Citadel.}

…

_Codex Entry: The Koprulu Alliance_

_Not much is known about the triumvirate of races that lie beyond the Perseus Veil. What is known is that neither the Terran Dominion, Protoss or Zerg Swarm rely on Mass Effect technologies, and have complete disdain for Council laws, specifically ones concerning AIs and a requirement to share scientific discoveries. Legally, they have no obligation to obey the Council, but the attitude has put them in a negative light among residents of Council space._

_The Alliance is fiercely territorial, having openly declared that any ship entering the Koprulu Sector or the Crossroads System, which contains the only known Mass Relay into their space, uninvited will be destroyed on sight. Though both the Alliance and the Council have only been aware of each other for a short time, the latter has made it a punishable offense to enter Alliance territory, though Turian patrols near the Perseus Veil have intensified, particularly near the Alliance-held Crossroads System, and a substantial cash-bounty has been offered to any Alliance technology or biological samples recovered._

**So there you go, guys! While it wasn't so much a verbal smackdown, this meeting was meant to establish relations between the Alliance and the Council. For the most part, it's a 'don't bother us, we won't bother you' agreement. However, this would be a very boring story if either side stuck to that agreement, wouldn't it? Don't worry, there's going to be action coming.**

**Now, as is my custom, I'm going to address some points about this chapter, and a few of the more common comments in the reviews.**

**First, the **_**Spear of Adun**_**: I'll admit, I have no idea how big that freakin' thing is, but its description says that it can hold an entire **_**civilization**_**, along with fleets of Carriers (which are about the size of Battlecruisers, if not bigger) and several Motherships, which are even bigger than Carriers. Not to mention the armies that the **_**Spear **_**has to also be carrying. With that in mind, and the fact that it was said that it's the last ship of its kind, I made it 100 kilometers long. Sorry it didn't blow the crap out of everything, but it will. Maybe not soon, but rest assured, it will.**

**Nova: This is a short mention, but come on, did you really think that Valerian wasn't going somewhere without some invisible backup? He doesn't seem to be the type to not have contingencies. **

**Translator implants: I think that's a thing in canon ME, but since Stetmann was able to make a bulky, crude translator in less than a day and with fewer resources, I'm sure the Terrans would be able to refine that into an implant. I don't think Terrans have any problem with cybernetics; look at Swann's clamp/arm thing, or Warfield's arm-cannon. A little implant that translates in real-time would be no issue. I can only assume that psionic races like Protoss and Zerg who matter (like Kerrigan, the Broodmothers, etc.) would simply translate their thoughts psionically. **

**Alliance Leaders: I won't sugarcoat it, the StarCraft universe is a grim, bloody place to live. It's not as bad as Warhammer 40K (please hold all comments about how Blizzard ripped off 40K to make StarCraft, I've heard 'em all), but it's still bad. Each faction has blood on their hands, and none of them are above doing dark and even evil things to get the job done. Just because Valerian is a better person than his father doesn't mean he won't order a Ghost to hold a gun to someone's kid to keep a political rival from being annoying. The Protoss were willing to burn whole planets of innocent people just to stop the Zerg. The Zerg are… well, the Zerg, they've killed billions, 'nuff said.**

**The Council: I don't want the Council to be made out as incompetent idiots. They're not. They're just doing the best they can with what they have. Tevos is a scheming bitch, but I didn't want to make her outright evil, like I did in Outcast Effect, even if using the Quarians as scapegoats was a bitch move. She had (sort of) good intentions; she wanted to keep the rest of the Council's citizens from freaking out. To prevent chaos, she funneled it towards the Quarians. Not saying I approve, just that I understand her intentions. I still hate her on principle, though.**

**The psychic presence in the Citadel: Remember, the Reapers made the Citadel, so they would probably have some sort of psionic connection to it, like how the Protoss can psychically use their tech. As for the Reapers maybe being psionics themselves… well, how do they indoctrinate people? Think about it for a minute.**

**Lack of psionics in ME: Trust me, I'm going to explain it. It will make sense then.**

**Timeline: Unlike in canon ME, I'm not going to wait 30 years or whatever before stuff happens. If you've played StarCraft, you've noticed that stuff happens **_**very **_**quickly. Right after the events of the first StarCraft, the UED showed up and all that crap happened. 4 years later, Wings of Liberty happened, and less than a year later, Heart of the Swarm happened. I'm moving at StarCraft-level pace for this story. That's going to piss off the Asari, I'm sure; being so long-lived, they're used to taking things slow.**

**Intro and outro: I wanted to have the intro being sort of a recap of major events, but from the Alliance's point of view, while the outro would be a description of certain things in the Alliance from an outsider's point of view. It was fun writing, at any rate.**

**Next chapter is going to be a little different. This time around, I'm going to create a timeline that meshes the StarCraft events and the Mass Effect events. It won't flow like this chapter, but it's more to be a reference, establish ages and events so that they fit in the SC timeline, and so forth.**

**Thanks to chm01 for this quote!**

**They say a man never really knows himself… until his muffin's been taken away.**


	4. Events, Unfortunate and Otherwise

**STARCRAFT DOES NOT BELONG TO ME. MASS EFFECT DOES NOT BELONG TO ME. THE ABILITY TO MESS WITH TIME AND SPACE, BOTH IN LITERATURE AND IN REAL LIFE, DOES BELONG TO ME.**

**I apologize, I meant to have this up a couple of days ago. However, life got in the way. As a way to make it up to you, and considering that this chapter is not completely relevant to the plot and is more to help fuse the two universes, I will work on the next chapter of this story before going to Outcast Effect.**

**To ensure that the histories of both StarCraft and Mass Effect mesh, I have created this handy-dandy timeline. It's also useful for explaining backstories of certain characters. I'll be altering a few events, considering some information in StarCraft 2 clashes with things previously established.**

Cycles Upon Cycles

Chapter 3

Events, Unfortunate and Otherwise

**Age of Creation **

According to ancient Protoss texts, the Xel'naga arrived in the Milky Way galaxy tens of millions of years ago with the purpose of establishing their domain and seeding life.

At some point, their scholars predict the Great Wars.

Evidence is discovered that another race, one almost as old as the Xel'naga themselves, were wiped out by their own creations, a fusion of technology and their own biology.

One Xel'naga, Amon, argues against creating life, as the creations may overthrow the creators. A brief schism occurs, resulting in Amon's followers falling, and Amon himself retreating into the Void.

Millions of years later, the Xel'naga begin to die out; they are long-lived, but not immortal. They decide that the universe needs them, or at least an equivalent version. They seek to either find or create races that are the embodiments of Form and Essence; those races would eventually become one, taking the Xel'naga's place. However, the search and/or creation of these races would take place in what will eventually be called the Koprulu Sector, which is far from the creations of the ancient race, the Leviathans.

Observers on the edge of the Koprulu Sector witness the Leviathans' creations wiping out a dozen races before withdrawing to dark space. Plans are drawn up to protect the Xel'naga's creations.

Eventually, the Xel'naga discover Aiur, homeworld of the race that they name Protoss, meaning 'firstborn'. They are delighted to find the race that embodies Form. They observe the Protoss for one hundred generations, but when natural progress is slow, the Xel'naga begin a thousand-year period of subtle manipulation. Once the Protoss establish the first crude civilizations, the Xel'naga make themselves known.

An unknown element is discovered; it is revealed that it poisons psionics when they are in the womb, reducing their powers to almost nonexistence. As the Protoss require psionic powers to survive, and the embodiment of Essence will need it as well, the Xel'naga take great pains to wipe all trace of the element from the Koprulu Sector.

Protoss civilization grows and spreads, but distrust of the Xel'naga takes root in the younger species' hearts. For the first time, the psionic link that binds all Protoss begins to fail.

The Xel'naga depart Aiur, but the Protoss attack their vessels. Many Xel'naga perish before they escape. The Protoss tribes begin feuding among themselves, beginning the Aeon of Strife.

The remaining Xel'naga discover the world of Zerus and find that the native species, the Zerg, are the embodiment of Essence. However, Amon has already been present for some time, creating the Zerg Overmind and uniting much of the Zerg within a hive mind. Amon directs the Zerg Swarm to destroy the Xel'naga; less than a dozen survive. Deciding to hunt down his remaining brethren himself, Amon sends his Swarm to find and eliminate the race that embodies Form, so that the Xel'naga can never return.

Amon eventually finds the other Xel'naga, and while he does kill several, he himself is destroyed. The last surviving Xel'naga put plans into motion; they are too few and too weak to stop all of Amon's agents across the galaxy from carrying out his plans, or worse, bringing the Fallen One back to life, so they preserve themselves in order to assist the younger races when they can.

**68,000 BCE-500 BCE **

The Protheans achieve spaceflight, then discover Mass Effect technology. They quickly establish an empire that spans much of the galaxy; the Mass Relays become their property, while the Citadel becomes their capital.

The Protheans begin assimilating other species into their empire to fend off a race of artificial intelligences. This is called the 'Metacon War'.

In 48,000 BCE, the Leviathans' creations return and begin exterminating the Protheans and their subordinate races. Though weakened by the Metacon War, the Prothean Empire lasts for several centuries against what they call 'Reapers'. Some Protheans seal themselves in stasis across several worlds, but they will never recover. The Reapers return to dark space.

Between 45,000 BCE and 40,000 BCE, the Overmind sends dozens of Zerg Broods across the stars. One Brood passes through a Mass Relay; a short time later, the Brood's contact to the hive mind is severed. The Overmind desires to find out what happened to the Brood, but Amon's all-consuming directive to find and destroy the embodiment of Form forces it to turn its attention elsewhere. Before leaving, however, the Swarm destroys the Mass Relay, cutting off one of few connections that the Koprulu Sector has with the rest of the galaxy.

In 1900 BCE, the Krogan enter the nuclear age. Shortly after achieving rudimentary space-travel, a global nuclear war breaks out, reducing the Krogan into warring tribes.

In 580 BCE, the Asari reverse-engineer Prothean technology on their homeworld of Thessia to achieve faster-than-light travel. They discover the Mass Relay network and the Citadel.

In 520 BCE, the Salarians discover the Citadel and open diplomatic relations with the Asari. Twenty years later, the Citadel Council is established.

**Council Era—Formation**

Between 500 BCE and 1 CE, the Council grants embassies on the Citadel to the Volus, Batarians, Elcor, Hanar and Quarians.

**Council Era—War and Rebellion**

Between 1 CE and 900 CE, Council space is attacked by the Rachni, a hive-minded race of insects, when a Council exploration team opens a dormant Mass Relay that leads into Rachni space. Reports of the Rachni appearing to be enhanced with cybernetics from something 'other than Rachni' is dismissed by the Council as 'implausible'.

In 80 CE, the Salarians discover and uplift the Krogan. With modern weapons and new worlds to breed, the Krogan soldiers take the fight to the Rachni worlds. Their physiology allows them to survive the harsh environments long enough to kill the Rachni Queens and destroy their eggs.

By 300 CE, the Rachni are declared extinct. Now free of war, the Krogan move to the worlds provided by the Council and their population explodes.

Between 300 CE and 700 CE, the Krogan expand to several other worlds. In response to growing fear of a war with the Krogan, the Council forms the Special Tactics and Reconnaissance, or SPECTRE, branch of the Citadel.

Starting in 700 CE, the Krogan begin occupying worlds that are already inhabited. War breaks out when the Krogan refuse to leave, and the people that once saved the Council prove worse than the Rachni. First contact is made between the Council and the extremely militaristic Turians. However, even with their help, the Council's defenses begin to buckle under the strain of Krogan numbers.

In 710 CE, the Turians deploy a Salarian-made bio-weapon, the genophage, against the Krogan, reducing their birthrate to 1/1000th of what it used to be.

In 800 CE, the Krogan Rebellions end, and the Turians are given a seat on the Council a century later as a reward.

**Aeon of Strife **

Protoss tribes, both on Aiur and their colony worlds, attack each other in frenzied madness as their psionic link deteriorates. Millions of Protoss die, until two members of the Shelak Tribe, Khas and Temlaa, discover the Khaydarin Crystals and use them to both restore the psychic link and empower the Protoss. The Aeon of Strife soon ends, and the Second Age begins.

**The Second Age **

The ruling body of the Protoss, the Conclave, is established, as is the Templar Caste, whose initial purpose is to protect Protoss from those who disagree with the new laws. The Conclave hides evidence of Xel'naga artifacts and a vessel, which they reverse-engineer into their own technology.

The Protoss begin exploring and expanding beyond Aiur once again. Alien races that are deemed a threat are destroyed; unfortunately, _every _race that the Protoss encounter are deemed a threat.

**The Rogues **

Around the year 1500 CE, the Protoss hero Adun is tasked to eliminate a group of heretics called the Dark Templar, who purposefully remove their psionic link, called the Khala, preferring the ability to keep secrets. Adun assists in hiding the Dark Templar, rather than killing them, though in his attempt to save them, he is killed. The Dark Templar are banished from Aiur.

Some years later, the Dark Templar discover the world of Shakuras; more importantly, they find an ancient Xel'naga temple with intact technologies. The Dark Templar establish their own civilization, safe and far away from their brethren, the Khalai.

**Golden Age of Expansion **

The Protoss territory now holds one-eighth of all planets once held by the Xel'naga. Technology improves by leaps and bounds, though there are setbacks. Two of the three Arkships, massive vessels capable of starting an entire civilization, are destroyed; the third, the _Spear of Adun_, goes missing.

The Protoss wage a short war with a race called the Kalathi. The war ends in total victory for the Protoss, but some Kalathi records are discovered that claim that the war with the Protoss was unintentional. The Kalathi were actually preparing for a war with something they called 'the Ascended'. No proof of this unknown force is discovered, and the Conclave dismisses all efforts to investigate further.

**The Morning War**

Around 2200 CE, the Quarians push the boundaries of their synthetic servants, the Geth; the machines become AIs. In an effort to hide the fact that they broke a fundamental Council law, the Quarians begin dismantling the Geth; in response, the Geth fight back in what they refer to as the Morning War. In just a few years, the Quarians are driven from their homeworld, Rannoch, as well as their other colonies. Instead of pursuing the Quarians and attacking the rest of the galaxy, the Geth retreat back behind the Perseus Veil. As punishment, the Council removes the Quarian embassy and forbids them from settling on a new world, nor do they offer help in reclaiming their home. The Quarians become drifters residing on their Migrant Fleet.

**The Exodus**

Humanity has expanded to several other systems beyond Earth. However, social problems threaten to send the entire Human race into anarchy. In an effort to make an example to others, 40,000 prisoners, their crimes ranging from theft to mass murder, are placed in stasis aboard three supercarriers and sent to orbit the world of Gantris VI.

However, something goes wrong, and all three ships continue past their intended destination, eventually arriving in the Koprulu Sector in 2259 CE. The supercarriers crash on the worlds of Tarsonis, Umoja and Moria. The officers aboard command-ship, the _Nagglfar_, become the Old Families of Tarsonis. In 2323, they establish the Terran Confederacy. Terrans of Umoja become the Umojan Protectorate, while those on Moria eventually become the Kel-Morian Combine to oppose Confederate economic sanctions. None are aware that the Protoss have been observing them since their arrival into the sector.

In 2402, Liara T'soni is born.

In 2439, the Zerg become aware of the Terrans.

In 2470, Jim Raynor is born.

In 2473, Sarah Kerrigan is born.

In 2478, the senator of the Confederacy world of Korhal, Angus Mengsk, begins a secret revolution with the aid of Umoja. His son, Arcturus, disagrees with him.

In 2180, at only seven years old, Sarah Kerrigan accidentally unleashes her psychic powers, killing her mother and severely injuring her father. The Confederacy inducts her into the Ghost Program.

The Turian Garrus Vakarian is born in 2485.

In 2485, Hannah Shepard, a rising star in the Confederate Navy, marries Harold Gillian, an influential businessman with ties to the Old Families. Their marriage is rocky at best, and Hannah refuses to introduce herself with any name other than Shepard.

Kasumi Goto is born on Umoja in 2486.

The Confederacy discovers Zerg infestations on several fringe worlds. They wipe out all life, Zerg and Terran, with a bioengineered plague.

Aaron Shepard is born on Tarsonis in 2487.

Near the end of the Guild Wars, waged between the Kel-Morian Combine and the Confederacy until 2489, Jim Raynor and his friend, Tychus Findlay, go AWOL from the Confederate military, becoming outlaws.

Mere weeks after the end of the Guild Wars, Angus Mengsk declares the independence of Korhal. The Confederacy dispatches Ghosts to assassinate him and succeed. Arcturus Mengsk declares vengeance against the Confederacy, as well as discovers the existence of his son, Valerian.

In 2490, Harold Gillian is shocked to see his son, Aaron, using psychic powers to make his toys fly. He immediately sends him to the Confederate Ghost Program, not discussing it with his wife, or even telling her. Several months later, when Hannah Shepard, now a successful Battlecruiser Captain, comes home from a tour of duty, she finds out what her husband has done. In a rage, she murders him. Because of Gillian's friendship with the Old Families, Hannah is sentenced without a trial and sent to the prison-world of New Folsom in cryogenic suspension.

In 2491, the Confederacy destroys the surface of Korhal through sustained nuclear barrage. Arcturus, now in command of the rebellion, renames the survivors the Sons of Korhal. In three years, they do considerable damage to the Confederacy, including rescuing Sarah Kerrigan from experiments involving the Zerg, and destroying the Ghost Academy on Tarsonis, though only because most of the Ghost trainees—including Aaron Shepard—were off-world at the time.

Tali'Zorah is born in 2492.

In 2495, after years as successful criminals, the misadventures of Jim Raynor and Tychus Findlay come to an end. Tychus is arrested, and Jim moves to the fringe world of Mar Sara and marries a woman named Lidya. Jim is made Marshal the next year.

In 2498, Jim and Lidya's son, John, is discovered to be psychic. Despite Jim's misgivings towards the Confederacy, the Raynors allow their son to be taken into the Ghost Program. Several months later, they receive a message telling them that John died in an accident. Lidya dies from grief soon afterwards.

The Confederacy begins abducting and resocializing innocent civilians—a process normally handed out only to criminals—turning them into brainwashed soldiers in an effort to increase its military.

In November of 2499, the Confederate colony of Chau Sara is attacked by the Zerg while the Sons of Korhal are in the middle of an incursion. The Sons of Korhal escape just before Confederate forces lock down the planet. The Zerg take over Chau Sara within days.

In December, a Protoss fleet, under the command of Executor Tassadar, burns Chau Sara of all life. Four days later, they head towards Chau Sara's sister world, Mar Sara, but is turned away by a Confederate fleet.

The next day, the Magistrate of Mar Sara, along with Jim Raynor and UNN reporter Michael Liberty, work to move civilians out of the way of the recently-discovered Zerg infesting the planet. After destroying an infested base, Raynor and Liberty are arrested by Confederate General Edmund Duke; the Magistrate's position is suspended.

Mar Sara is lost; in desperation, the Magistrate accepts the help of Arcturus Mengsk in evacuating the colonists. The colony is almost completely overrun by the Zerg shortly after the evacuation.

Raynor and Liberty, along with hundreds of militiamen from several worlds, are rescued by the Sons of Korhal and happily join the movement. Raynor proves his worth by leading a team to the Jacobs Installation on Mar Sara to steal vital Confederate secrets. The facility self-destructs just as Raynor and his men escape.

Hours after the Sons of Korhal leave the system, the Protoss return and purify Mar Sara of all life.

At this time, the United Earth Directorate discovers that the descendants of their criminals have survived and made contact with two alien races. Panicked, they send half of their total military forces to the Koprulu Sector to reclaim its wayward colonists and gain control of anything useful from the aliens.

At the dawn of the year 2500 CE, James Raynor meets Sarah Kerrigan; with the Sons of Korhal at their side, they incite a rebellion on the planet Antiga Prime. Together with the Antigans, they quickly overthrow the Confederate garrison, giving Mengsk more troops and supplies.

The flagship of the Confederate fleet, _Norad II_, is brought down by the Zerg. The Sons of Korhal rescue the survivors, the Confederate's vaunted Alpha Squadron, along with their commanding officer, General Duke. They join the Sons of Korhal after only brief hesitation.

General Duke, along with the stolen data from the Jacobs Installation, reveal a horrifying secret: the Confederacy has been using devices called Psi Emitters to draw the Zerg to certain planets. This both protects the Core Worlds from the Swarm and gives the Confederacy a semi-directed weapon against its enemies.

The Confederacy blockades Antiga Prime and sets up a large base. In response, the Sons of Korhal build their own Psi Emitter, and Kerrigan infiltrates the base to deploy it. When the Swarm arrives, the Sons of Korhal, including their Antigan allies and the turncoat Confederates, make their escape. The Protoss arrive and purify the planet.

A terrorist attack on Tarsonis kills all of the Terra family, one of the Old Families, save for Nova Terra, who escapes thanks to her psychic powers. She becomes a criminal for several years.

A few months later, the Sons of Korhal, their numbers swelling by the day, attack a vital orbital platform over Tarsonis. In a daring attack, they cause enough of a distraction for a small team, led by Kerrigan, to make it to the surface and deploy numerous Psi Emitters. However, Kerrigan calls out Arcturus as insane.

Shortly after the Emitters are activated, the Zerg attack Tarsonis. However, the Protoss are not far behind. Arcturus orders Kerrigan and her forces to drive the Protoss back, or the Confederates could escape the Swarm. Kerrigan succeeds, but is, herself, overrun by the Zerg when Mengsk abandons her to her fate; conveniently, this removes an influential detractor of Mengsk. Raynor and those loyal to him race to the surface, but don't find Kerrigan.

Mengsk reveals his mad ambitions when he declares that he will rule the sector or see it burnt to ashes around him. At this point, Raynor, Michael Liberty and a small fraction of the Sons of Korhal abandon Mengsk and his manipulations, determined to bring down an even worse oppressor than the Confederacy. The soldiers of Raynor's group rename themselves Raynor's Raiders.

Before Tarsonis is completely wiped out, Mengsk rescues those whom he deems useful, including CEOs, those in the media who are sympathetic to his cause, and several Ghost trainees who can be swayed to his side. Among those trainees are two of the Tarsonis Academy's best, Miranda Lawson and Aaron Shepard.

Mengsk declares the creation of the Terran Dominion and crowns himself Emperor.

During an operation against the new Dominion, Raynor's Raiders defeat General Duke, though leaving him alive, and stealing Mengsk's flagship, the _Hyperion_.

Mengsk quickly consolidates his power, calling in favors and executing any who would dispute his rule. Among the victims is half of the entire Ghost Program.

All-out war rages between the Zerg and the Protoss. While most of the Swarm is sent against the Protoss armies and fleets, the Overmind creates a special Cerebrate to watch over and serve the Swarm's most potent agent: an infested Sarah Kerrigan. While Kerrigan completes her metamorphosis inside of a chrysalis on the planet Char, she psychically calls out to both Jim Raynor and Arcturus Mengsk.

In response, Duke is sent to Char to obtain Kerrigan. However, the Zerg defeat his forces. Raynor's Raiders attempt to do the same shortly after, but are too late, and Kerrigan emerges from the chrysalis.

Kerrigan, now calling herself the Queen of Blades, boards a Dominion Science Vessel that holds secrets regarding why Kerrigan's powers are suppressed. She slaughters the ship's crew and retrieves the data, quickly becoming even more powerful.

Tassadar encounters a force of Dark Templar on his way to Char. Rather than attack them, he offers an alliance; their leader, the Dark Prelate Zeratul, accepts. Together, they kill Zasz, a Cerebrate; the energies wielded by the Dark Templar prevent the Overmind from reviving the Cerebrate.

After a series of battles that end in favor of the Zerg, the Swarm arrives on the surface of Aiur itself. A Khaydarin crystal is taken and a Protoss temple is destroyed, paving the way for the Overmind's arrival.

With the Swarm overrunning their home, the Protoss launch a desperate counterattack. Despite the efforts of Judicator Aldaris and Praetor Fenix, the Cerebrate they kill is reincarnated. It is then that Tassadar tells them that a Cerebrate can only be permanently killed by a Dark Templar, or one who uses their powers. Later, Fenix is reportedly killed, but his ruined body is able to serve within the shell of a Dragoon.

After a series of minor victories, the Conclave declares Tassadar a criminal for associating with the Dark Templar and chases him to Char. Before being forced to flee to Aiur, Tassadar and Raynor's Raiders free Zeratul and his brethren from the Zerg. When Tassadar arrives with his banished brothers, it sparks a civil war. Rather than see Protoss killing Protoss, Tassadar surrenders to the Conclave.

Knowing that Tassadar is the only one holding their combined forces together, Raynor and Zeratul rescue him. The Dark Templar then kill two Cerebrates that guard the approach to the Overmind.

Both factions of the Protoss, along with the Raiders, attack the Overmind. Despite heavy losses, Tassadar is able to set his ship on a collision-course with the massive brain-like entity. Channeling the energies of the Dark Templar throughout his ship, he sacrifices himself to kill the Overmind… or so his allies think.

With the Overmind dead, Kerrigan seizes the opportunity to take control of the Swarm and kills the Conclave. Knowing that to stay is to die, the remaining Protoss and the Raiders head to a warp gate to the home of the Dark Templar, Shakuras. When the evacuation of Aiur is complete, over seventy percent of all Protoss on the planet have died, and several hundred remain in hiding.

**The Brood War**

The Zerg Swarm splits in two. One side follows the Cerebrate Daggoth, while the other follows Kerrigan. Under the pretense of never wanting to do what she did, Kerrigan fools the Protoss into allying with her. Together, they activate the Xel'naga temple on Shakuras, wiping out all Zerg on the planet. Unbeknownst to the Protoss, however, Kerrigan is able to mentally enslave the Dark Templar Matriarch, Raszagal.

The UED fleet arrives, under the command of Admiral DuGalle and Vice Admiral Alexei Stukov. Their forces strike a devastating blow against the Dominion. They are joined by Samir Duran, leader of the Confederate Resistance Forces. With the intelligence he provides, the UED is able to cripple the Dominion in a matter of weeks.

One point of contention between DuGalle and his lifelong friend, Stukov, is the matter of a Confederate-made device called a Psi Disruptor that is found on Tarsonis. The device broke the Zerg hive mind, and while Stukov wants to use it against the Swarm, Duran persuades DuGalle into ordering its destruction. However, when Duran is about to set explosives on the Disruptor, Ghosts under the command of Stukov tell him that they will finish the job.

When the UED reaches Korhal, now habitable thanks to anti-radiation technologies used by Mengsk, the Dominion's forces are routed. Before the UED can capture the Emperor himself, however, he is rescued by Raynor's Raiders and his Protoss allies.

The UED tracks them all to Aiur, where they are preparing to enter a warp gate. However, the emanations from the gate drive the nearby Zerg into a frenzy. Just before the UED is about to capture Mengsk again, Duran's forces move out of position, forcing the rest of the UED to fend off the Zerg while Raynor and Mengsk escape.

Soon after, it is discovered that Stukov did not destroy the Psi Disruptor as ordered. Instead, he has been activating it. DuGalle orders Duran and a team of soldiers to enter the Disruptor and deal with Stukov. Duran's forces fight their way into the Disruptor and kill Stukov, but not before it is revealed that Duran is working for someone else, or even infested. Duran activates the Disruptor's self-destruct, but the UED forces are able to stop it.

Despite the loss of Stukov and Duran's betrayal, DuGalle moves his forces to Char, where a new Overmind is growing from the gestalt biomass of most of the Cerebrates that oppose Kerrigan. Using the Disruptor, superior tactics, potent drugs and powerful psychics, the UED takes control of the Overmind, and with it, most of the Swarm.

The UED's celebration is premature, however; within hours of the Overmind's capture, Kerrigan establishes an alliance with Raynor, Fenix and Mengsk. Raynor's forces temporarily disable the Psi Disruptor, allowing Kerrigan and several Dominion Psi Emitters to gather a large Zerg force, overwhelm the UED garrison and destroy the Disruptor for good.

After a brief stop to gather necessary resources, Kerrigan's forces, the Raiders and Fenix's Protoss launch an assault on Korhal. With Kerrigan fighting for control, the UED's Zerg are ineffective; the UED is driven off Korhal, and the Zerg that aren't killed join Kerrigan's forces.

With that victory, Kerrigan allows her allies to rest. Before they wake up the next morning, however, she and Duran launch a surprise attack. General Duke is killed, as are most of the Dominion forces, much to Mengsk's horror. When Fenix is murdered, Raynor swears that he'll kill Kerrigan, no matter what it takes.

Not long later, Kerrigan sends Duran to Shakuras, with orders to kidnap Raszagal. The plan succeeds, and an enraged Zeratul demands that Kerrigan release the Matriarch. Kerrigan agrees, but only if Zeratul destroys the Overmind. Reluctantly, Zeratul accepts the deal; the Zerg and Protoss go to Char, and while Kerrigan keeps the UED busy, Zeratul kills the Overmind. However, Raszagal refuses to go with Zeratul, obviously under Kerrigan's thrall. Zeratul abducts her and flees, but Kerrigan gives chase.

With no other recourse, Zeratul kills Raszagal, rather than let her be Kerrigan's slave. A grieving Zeratul is allowed to live, with Kerrigan saying how whatever Zeratul did would be worse than any torture she could come up with.

Still, Zeratul begins searching for scattered elements of the Protoss fleet, so that they would reunite on Shakuras. However, he discovers a base, guarded by Terrans; the base houses experiments, hybrids of Protoss and Zerg. After destroying the Hybrid, Zeratul is contacted by Duran, who is neither Terran nor Zerg. He says that losing this base is meaningless, as he has many more, and that his master would bring about the end of everything. Zeratul chooses to seek out answers.

Back on Char, Kerrigan is caught by surprise when three separate fleets—the UED, Protoss, and special-interest groups allied to Mengsk—attack her Hive Clusters. Despite the surprise, and the lack of Duran, who has abandoned her, she is able to defeat each fleet. The surviving Protoss, led by Artanis, vow vengeance, as does Mengsk. DuGalle, on the other hand, tries to surrender; Kerrigan laughs and offers him a head start before she sends the Swarm after the UED fleet. DuGalle kills himself shortly before his forces are overrun; not a single survivor returns to Earth.

Between 2500 and 2504, the Terran Dominion will focus most of its efforts on rebuilding; its fleet will be reborn, its armies restored and enhanced, and worlds that had been devastated will soon have people living on them again. Also around this time, Artanis is named Hierarch of the Protoss; his first act is to unite the entire Protoss navy into one entity, the Golden Armada.

In 2502, Aaron Shepard is sent on his first mission as a Dominion Ghost. He assassinates the ambassadors of both the Umojan Protectorate and Kel-Morian Combine during a meeting in which they were considering waging war against the Dominion; in a stroke of initiative, he leaves evidence that has both sides blaming the other for the murders. As a reward for his success, Shepard is sent to Project Shadowblade, an offshoot of the Ghost Program, under the command of Gabriel Tosh. He undergoes the Spectre procedure and finds his abilities drastically enhanced; as a side-effect, Dominion psych-evaluations note the appearance of kleptomaniacal tendencies in Shepard's behavior.

Tosh leads the Spectres in rebellion in 2503. When their initial operations fail, Tosh orders the Spectres that aren't already captured to escape. Nova Terra, now the Dominion's best Ghost, spends several months chasing down the Spectres. Shepard evades capture the longest, until he goes to ground, hiding in Umojan territory for a month; he receives assistance from a Umojan Ghost named Kasumi Goto, trading information implicating the Dominion in the assassination of the Umojan and Kel-Morian ambassadors in exchange for safety. However, Nova catches up to Shepard, and though Kasumi offers to help fight her, Shepard tells her to take the data he's given and run while he holds Nova off. Though he gives Nova the fight of her life, she wins after shooting him in the neck; he survives and is sent to New Folsom, where his powers are shut down. Of all the Spectres, Tosh is never caught.

Kasumi never gives the Umojans or the Kel-Morians the data; instead, she deserts the Protectorate and becomes a freelance spy, thief and assassin. Her reasons for doing so are unknown.

During his stay in New Folsom, Shepard sneaks into the cryo-wing to escape abusive guards and finds a woman named Hannah Shepard. Intrigued, he begins investigating, either with questions or the occasional, and risky, infiltration of the prison's archives to hack the computers. Shepard is shocked to discover that Hannah is his mother; so many years in training had pushed the memories of his mother into his subconscious. Shepard resolves to free his mother and get them both out of New Folsom.

**Wings of Liberty**

In 2504, Tychus Findlay is released from prison, but placed inside of a suit of armor that cannot be removed. He is told by Mengsk that if he wants to be free, he will have to kill the Queen of Blades. If he fails, the suit will shut down all of his vital organs.

Tychus makes his way to Mar Sara, where Jim Raynor has resumed his rebellion after four years of little activity. Thanks to some contacts that he makes before arriving, Tychus gets Raynor a job that will finance his rebellion. With the promise of both money and dealing a blow to the Dominion, Raynor takes the job; his forces destroy a Dominion archaeological dig and recover an alien artifact.

Less than a day later, the Zerg attack Mar Sara; Raynor's Raiders hold the Swarm off until the _Hyperion _arrives and rescues them. Once they escape Mar Sara, Matt Horner tells Jim that the Zerg have attacked throughout Dominion space. Tychus tells Jim that he was hired by the Moebius Foundation, a group of scientists and researchers, to find artifacts like the one from Mar Sara. Raynor agrees to take the jobs, but he also wants to fight the Dominion and help those in need.

The Raiders head to the planet Agria, where the colonists, led by Ariel Hanson, are trying to escape the Zerg. With the Raiders' help, they succeed, and Hanson signs on as their chief medical officer and scientist. Between her and Egon Stetmann, the Raiders develop valuable technologies from studying the Protoss and Zerg.

After the operation on Agria, the Raiders are contacted by Gabriel Tosh; he offers them a massive payday if they help his mining operations on the planet Redstone. Despite attacks from the Zerg and lava-surges every few minutes, the Raiders gather a large amount of rare minerals, which they sell some of to pay off debts and resupply their forces. For the first time in years, the Raiders are back on their feet. Tosh, meanwhile, keeps some of the minerals for his own use, and offers further business ventures in the future. Dr. Hanson tells Raynor that the crystals contain Jorium, which can affect brain chemistry, or even produce psionic abilities in Humans.

Raynor's Raiders later head to the planet Monlyth, where another artifact is defended by Protoss fanatics, called the Tal'darim. The Raiders' task is made easier by the Zerg, who distract the bulk of the Protoss forces. As the Raiders begin leaving, Raynor is contacted by Kerrigan, who taunts him. After the artifact is recovered, Matt Horner catches Tychus hacking into the _Hyperion_'s database for information regarding Kerrigan. He goes to Raynor with his concerns, but Raynor says that he owes Tychus for not ratting him out to the law, and that Matt should leave it be.

A few days later, Dr. Hanson tells Raynor that there is an emergency on the planet Meinhoff, where refugees from all over the sector have gathered, the Agria colonists included. The Raiders discover that a Zerg virus has spread to many of the refugee camps, turning the refugees into infested monsters. The Raiders dig in and hold the line during the night, and destroy the infested buildings during the day, when the harsh UV light of Meinhoff's star forces the infested to burrow underground or be killed. It takes three days of intense fighting, but the Raiders prevent the Agria colonists and several hundred others from being infested or killed. Many refugees sign on with the Raiders afterwards.

Matt suggests that some of the colonists might be infested, to which Hanson is outraged, but Raynor calms her down and has her check each and every refugee, just in case. A total of one percent are confirmed as infested, and offer to kill themselves, rather than endanger everyone else. Reluctantly, Raynor allows them all a gun with one bullet each. The bodies are burned to prevent further infestation.

After the Raiders take a short rest, Tosh approaches Raynor with another job. This time, it involves gathering a rare gas called Terrazine. The largest amount of it is on the planet Bel'shir, but is guarded by Tal'darim forces. Despite fierce opposition, the Raiders are able to secure a large amount of the gas. After the mission, the _Hyperion _receives a message from an untraceable source, claiming that Tosh can't be trusted. Tosh tells the Raiders that he is a Spectre, a next-generation Ghost, and that the message was probably from Mengsk, who hates Tosh almost as much as he does Raynor. Down in the ship's lab, Dr. Hanson informs Raynor that the Terrazine also affects the brain; she suggests that it could be used as a drug or stimulant.

The Raiders spend a few days among the fringe worlds, gathering more volunteers and begin training those who need it. Just as they finish their recruiting-drive, Matt discovers that the Dominion have found something unusually valuable amidst the ruins of Tarsonis. The Raiders arrive and begin ambushing the trains the Dominion loaded their cargo into. For the most part, the loot is raw resources, augmented by equipment and materials scavenged from Dominion forces; the true prize, however, is an old Confederate Adjutant, though her files are encrypted. Raynor decides to go to Deadman's Port, a world full of pirates, smugglers and mercenaries, where a contact of his, Colonel Orlan, can crack the encryption.

After waiting for five days, Raynor suspects that Orlan may be trying to double-cross him. He receives a call from the mercenary Mira Han, AKA Mira Horner, Matt's wife and leader of Mira's Marauders. She tells Raynor that Orlan is planning to sell the Adjutant to the Dominion, and that he has hired her to keep the Raiders off his back. She offers to turn against Orlan, partially because she likes Raynor and Matt more than Orlan, but mostly because they'll match Orlan's price. Reluctantly, the Raiders pay Mira off; between the two groups, they crush Orlan's small army and take the decrypted Adjutant back. Mira puts Orlan in cryogenic suspension, in case Raynor needs him again.

The decrypted Adjutant's files contain proof that Mengsk ordered the deployment of Psi Emitters on Tarsonis, making him responsible for the massacre the Zerg perpetrated. For the moment, the Raiders merely sit on the information, waiting for the opportunity to share it with the entire sector.

A week passes, and Ariel Hanson has good news: her people have located a new home on the planet Haven. It sits on the border of Protoss space, but is far away from the conflict. However, communications with the colony are lost, and the Raiders rush over to see what the problem is. They discover that a large Protoss fleet is charging weapons; their sensors have discovered a small Zerg presence within the colony. Raynor offers to take care of the infestation, in exchange for the Protoss confirming that there is no other Zerg presence. The Protoss agree, and a small force of Raiders lands on the planet; it turns out that three refugees from Meinhoff had realized that they were infested, but did not want to die. They scatter among the colonists, but the Protoss use their sensors to hunt them down.

The Raiders kill the infested, and allow the Protoss to scan the planet. They declare that Haven is no longer tainted by the Zerg; however, Hanson nurses a small grudge, as she knows that the Protoss would burn the whole planet to eliminate one infested. Still, the Protoss share some of their technology with the Raiders as thanks for their assistance. With the colony established, Hanson elects to stay behind; she does offer to remain in contact in order to lend her expertise. She also invites Raynor to stay with the colony—and more importantly, with her—but Raynor declines.

There is a brief celebration among the Raiders; aside from the three infested, who were already dead, no one had died during the Haven mission. On top of that, the Raiders are getting reinforcements by the day, and several corporations that have grievances against the Dominion have quietly offered top-of-the-line upgrades to their weapons, vehicles and equipment.

The anticipation is palpable when Tosh says that he can offer them a chance to strike a huge blow against the Dominion, but everyone hesitates when Tosh tells them their target: New Folsom, a prison with a reputation for never having any escapes. Still, the opportunity to free everyone who ever openly spoke against Mengsk is too great to ignore.

When the Raiders arrive at New Folsom, Raynor is contacted by Nova. She claims that all Spectres are psychotic time-bombs that always went on killing-sprees, and that Raynor should help her keep Tosh from freeing his men. Despite Tosh admitting that freeing the Spectres is his top priority, he also says that the only way to free them is to free everyone. Raynor sides with Tosh, much to his joy and Nova's disappointment.

The Raiders launch an all-out assault on the prison, and while resistance is strong, Tosh has infiltrated ahead of them and weakened the most critical defenses. With help from the inmates, and some nuclear weapons, the Raiders break open the entire facility in an afternoon. The Raiders arrange for transport to safe havens for those who want it, and induct several thousand more into their growing army. Surprisingly, a woman named Jack takes a shuttle and sets course for the Dominion, determined to reenlist.

Tosh reactivates his Spectres, using the Jorium and Terrazine that the Raiders collected. Nearly a hundred Spectres join the Raiders, including Aaron Shepard, and Tosh promises to train any more volunteers to be loyal Raiders. Raynor accepts, knowing that he now has a way to counter the Dominion's Ghosts, who have been a constant thorn in his side.

Raynor also sends some data on the Spectre procedure to Dr. Hanson, who says that while the sudden gain of psionic abilities could induce a psychotic break, Spectres aren't monsters. Nova had lied.

Shepard releases his mother from cryo-stasis, and the two reunite for the first time in almost fifteen years. Hannah is shocked that her son is now, physically, less than a decade younger than her, while Shepard is even more surprised when he discovers that his mother murdered his father. While he had never been the best parent, he had been in Shepard's life far more than Hannah had been. As a result, early interactions between them are awkward, though both are willing to try and start over.

While a good portion of his forces rest, recover and train, Raynor takes another job from Tychus; Moebius have discovered another artifact in a Xel'naga temple on the planet Xil. Moebius had sent in a team to retrieve the artifact, but contact was lost. With a force of infantry and Siege Tanks, Raynor is able to fight through the Tal'darim who had slaughtered the Moebius team, reach their base, and reactivate the laser drill that was needed to cut through the temple's doors. Though the Tal'darim fight savagely, the Raiders are able to secure the artifact.

Several hours later, after having more than a few drinks, Raynor finds his old friend, Zeratul, aboard the _Hyperion_. The Dark Templar is hurt and scared, but he gives Raynor a crystal that allows him to relive his memories, and warns him that though justice demands that Kerrigan die for her crimes, only she can save the universe from annihilation. Before Raynor can protest, Zeratul vanishes.

After a brief discussion with Matt, Raynor uses the crystal. He finds that Zeratul traveled to an ancient temple that prophesized the return of the Xel'naga, but it is unclear whether or not there is a way to stop the end of all things. After a brief battle with Kerrigan, who also sought the prophecy, Zeratul fights his way to the other pieces of the puzzle. Eventually, he escapes with all of the fragments, though at the cost of dozens of Protoss who tried to assist him.

After obtaining the prophecy, Zeratul makes his way to the forbidden archive-world of Zhakul. He goes to share the fragments with the three Preservers on the planet. Once there, he and a small army of Protoss encounter a Hybrid, who had corrupted the Preservers' guards to serve it, and was sustaining itself by draining the life from the Preservers themselves. After killing the Hybrid and its slaves, Zeratul frees the Preservers, who tell him that the next piece in the puzzle resides with the original Overmind, whose corpse still lay on Aiur.

Zeratul travels to the Protoss homeworld, but hordes of Zerg still guard the Overmind's remains. After opening several warp gates to bring in reinforcements, Zeratul fights his way through the Zerg, peering into the Overmind's mind. What he finds confuses him, but what approaches him when he is finished shocks him to his core.

Tassadar, long thought dead, returns and tells him of the Overmind's courage. Despite being unable to act on its own, it fought against the directives of the Fallen Xel'naga, Amon. While not able to fight directly, it created one who could: Kerrigan, the Queen of Blades. It is at that point that Tassadar reveals that he has been a Xel'naga in disguise for hundreds of years, pretending to be a Protoss, trying to keep the firstborn on the right path. To get his point across, Tassadar places a vision the Overmind had of the future into Zeratul's mind.

That vision showed that the only race left in the universe was the Protoss. The last of their people had gathered, more Protoss in one place than any Terran had seen. Still, they are faced with an unending tide of Zerg and Hybrid. Despite all the power at their disposal, the Protoss fall, and when they do, Amon snuffs out the very stars, wiping out everything that could ever be. However, all of that can be avoided if Kerrigan does not die the next time Raynor gets a chance to kill her.

When the vision ends, Raynor feels that despite his oath to see the Queen of Blades dead, Kerrigan must live. Until he finds the opportunity to either kill or save her, however, Raynor will continue his campaign against the Dominion.

Not long after Raynor finishes reliving Zeratul's memories, Matt gets a breakthrough. The planet of Valhalla, a testing-ground for Dominion weapons, has finished building a super-heavy siege-walker, codenamed 'Odin'. Part of the plan to broadcast the evidence against Mengsk involves breaking into Valhalla and stealing the Odin. The Raiders accept the mission without hesitation.

An initial team, led by Tychus, breaches the Odin facility, and Tychus commandeers the walker himself. However, as he is unfamiliar with the Odin's systems, he leaves the communications set on 'transmit', and is unable to receive orders. Raynor quickly scrambles a small army to escort Tychus as he rampages through the facility, as part of the plan involved leveling the base to prevent the Dominion from getting word of their attack. While most of the Raiders fight alongside the Odin, Shepard is sent on ahead to paint targets for nuclear strikes. Softened up by the nukes, the Dominion forces are quickly overwhelmed by Tychus and the Raiders.

After the mission, Matt has Tychus scanned and reveals to Raynor that Tychus' suit is a deathtrap. Raynor realizes that Tychus has a gun to his head, and Matt wonders who has their finger on the trigger. Later, Tosh says that while Tychus is difficult to read, it's clear that Raynor's friend is preparing to do something he doesn't want to do.

While Matt prepares the Odin for its mission on Korhal, the Raiders receive an emergency transmission from Dr. Narud, the head of the Moebius Foundation. The Zerg are attacking the Moebius main labs on the world of Tyrador VIII, and are led by the Queen of Blades herself. While most of the Moebius personnel have been evacuated, they were unable to purge their datacores, which hold the locations of the remaining artifacts.

With the Raiders now large enough to spread out, Raynor leaves Matt with most of the infantry and heavy vehicles, taking only aircraft, Reaper jump-pack infantry and light vehicles to Tyrador. With lightning-fast strikes, the Raiders rescue stranded mercenaries in Moebius' employ, and destroy the datacores to keep them out of Kerrigan's hands. Before parting ways, Dr. Narud tells Raynor that Kerrigan seeks the artifacts because she fears their power, as well as the Xel'naga, who created the artifacts.

After returning to Matt's forces, Raynor is overwhelmed by memories of Kerrigan before she was infested. While normally able to handle large amounts of liquor, Raynor seeks to avoid the grief by drinking himself into unconsciousness. When he wakes up, Matt berates him for falling apart; Raynor responds that 'we are who we choose to be'. Matt hands him his old Marshal badge and tells Raynor that when he figures out who he chooses to be, the Raiders will be waiting.

Raynor takes Matt's words to heart and throws himself into the upcoming operation on Korhal. While it takes every favor Matt has ever earned, he is able to get the Odin on the surface, with Tychus inside. While Tychus rampages through several military strongpoints, the Raiders set up a base and deploy forces; their goal is to hijack three UNN stations and broadcast their damning evidence to everyone in the Dominion.

Raynor leads a force of infantry and light vehicles to secure one station, while Tychus takes a column of heavy vehicles and several of the newly-built Thors—smaller and weaker, but more practical versions of the Odin—to a second. Along the way, they are attacked by forces under the command of the Dominion's premier military leader, General Warfield. The third station is assaulted by a force of infantry led by Shepard, now promoted to Lieutenant. While their upload is underway, Shepard's troops are attacked by a smaller Dominion strike-force, led by the Dominion Ghost Miranda Lawson, once Shepard's rival during Ghost training and now a protégé of Nova Terra. Shepard fights Miranda, eventually winning when he telekinetically crushes her arms, but he allows her to live, saying 'she's excellent competition'.

The broadcast is made, and hours later, most of the fringe worlds and even some of the core worlds break out in riots. Groups that once aided the Raiders from the shadows now do so openly and with full support, and so many volunteer to serve with the Raiders that they run out of ships to hold them. Mengsk's reputation hits an all-time low, but is able to pacify the riots within a few days; unfortunately, doing so diverts forty percent of the troops and equipment that are initially slated to fight the Zerg.

A major change that increases the Raiders' combat capabilities is that several shipbuilding companies have granted them a substantial fleet of new _Minotaur_-class Battlecruisers, though the numbers will arrive slowly at first. Hannah Shepard, one of the most experienced capital ship commanders in the Raiders, is given command of the first of these Battlecruisers, the _Orizaba_, and the rank of Captain.

The Raiders take a few days to bask in their victory and celebrate, but Matt has disturbing news: during the attack on Korhal, documents were discovered that concerned a lab near the edge of Dominion space. While it appears harmless at first glance, the documents note that the entire staff is to be terminated. Curious, Raynor leads a small team to investigate. What was posed as a beryllium storage base is actually a lab for breeding Hybrids. One Hybrid escapes during Raynor's destruction of the lab; it draws power from the Hybrid embryos across the station, making it immune to any weapon the Raiders have on hand. The Raiders escape in a Dominion transport, mere seconds before the Hybrid catches up to them.

While disturbed by the discovery, the Raiders focus more on the fact that the revolution has begun, and that Raynor has a fire in him that hasn't been seen for years.

With the information that Kerrigan fears the Xel'naga artifacts, which are discovered to constitute a larger device, the Raiders enthusiastically pursue the next artifact on the world of Typhon XI. However, just before the Raiders move in, the system's star begins to go supernova, and the planet is bombarded by waves of fire. In a race against time, the Raiders blast through the Tal'darim force guarding the artifact, steal it and escape, leaving the Protoss that fail to evacuate in time to burn.

With the fourth artifact found, Raynor takes the _Hyperion _to rendezvous with Moebius to hand over the pieces. Assuming that this is a simple delivery, and overconfident from their recent victories, most of the Raiders head to friendly territory to rest and resupply. Only the _Orizaba _accompanies Raynor's ship, Hannah saying she has a 'bad feeling'.

After several hours of waiting, Raynor and Matt suspect something is wrong; before they can leave, a small Dominion fleet emerges from warp-space, led by Mengsk's flagship, the _Bucephalus_. Matt notes that the Dominion's ships shields and weapons are down, and Raynor orders the Raiders to prepare for combat, ignoring Matt's protests.

Several teams board the _Bucephalus_, overwhelming her skeleton-crew and few guards; Raynor and Tychus storm the bridge, where Raynor discovers that it is not Arcturus, but _Valerian _Mengsk in command. Valerian informs Raynor that he owns the Moebius Foundation, and that Raynor has been working for him all along. Raynor demands to know why he shouldn't just kill Valerian, to which Valerian says that he can give Raynor what he has always wanted: a chance to rescue Sarah Kerrigan.

The next day, Raynor informs the Raiders, now on their way to join him, that he has accepted an alliance with Valerian. According to the prince, the pieces of the artifact, once assembled, will wipe out the Zerg part of Kerrigan, making her Human again. Unsurprisingly, many of the Raiders oppose this alliance, as it has them working for the very enemy they have been fighting.

Valerian has information regarding the last artifact, but before taking the mission, Raynor demands to know why he is so set on invading Char. Valerian says that he wishes to prove that he will be a better Emperor than his father; reforming the worst mass-murderer in Human history, alongside the notorious Raiders, will be all the proof he needs.

Reluctantly, the Raiders accept Valerian's mission that leads to the mostly barren Sigma Quadrant. There, they find an ancient Xel'naga worldship, the vessels with which the Xel'naga traveled the cosmos. Among the ruins lies the artifact, guarded by Tal'darim who, in turn, are protected by a series of Rip Fields, which will tear apart non-Protoss biology and technology on a molecular level. Tychus objects to this mission, claiming that it is suicide; rather than argue, Raynor relieves his friend from duty. Tychus storms off to the _Hyperion_'s cantina.

The Raiders begin the mission, leading the charge with several Battlecruisers, who are sturdy enough to survive the Rip Fields long enough to destroy their generators. The process is made easier thanks to upgrades that the Raiders have made to all of their vehicles; each can repair themselves, albeit slowly, and combat-rated Science Vessels are on hand to speed up repairs. Between their fleet and teams of Dark Templar that they rescue from the Tal'darim, the Raiders destroy all of the generators, and then break through the enemy's defenses to steal the last artifact.

After the mission, the Raiders in the cantina begin grumbling about how Raynor is abandoning them to go to Char. Tychus, now very drunk, accuses Raynor of being a coward; when Raynor confronts Tychus moments later, the two get into a fight. Raynor beats Tychus, but not before the latter wrecks Jim's prized jukebox. Raynor addresses the Raiders, telling them that their mission has always been about saving lives, and that it has always been their choice whether or not to follow him. Word quickly spreads throughout Raynor's fleet that the Commander isn't going to Char just for personal reasons, that he's doing it for the sake of all who are threatened by the Swarm.

The Raiders arrive in full force, linking up with half of the Dominion's entire fleet. The combined forces warp to Char and prepare their attack, while Raynor pays a visit to Valerian aboard the _Bucephalus_. The Dominion side of things is led by General Warfield, who claims that his men have prepared for anything that the Zerg or the hell that is Char can throw at them. Raynor retorts that the Zerg aren't something that can be prepared for.

Before the two can get into an argument, Valerian arrives, telling Warfield that the Raiders are here as insurance against unforeseen difficulties. He then contacts Arcturus, who demands to know why Valerian has taken half of the fleet. Valerian declares that he will defeat the Queen of Blades, something his father could never do, and prove that he is a worthy successor. Arcturus tells his son that he is in over his head, but Raynor cuts in, telling the Emperor that when, not if, the Zerg are beaten, he will come for him.

Moments later, the Zerg attack the Dominion ships, which are ahead of the Raiders. Many of the Dominion ships and battlegroups are shot down, and the survivors are scattered. Raynor tells most of his own fleet to retreat to safer space, then navigates the _Hyperion _and several other ships, including the _Orizaba_, through the Swarm's anti-air defenses. Once on the ground, Raynor begins rescuing Dominion soldiers, adding them to his own forces. After gathering a sizeable army, Raynor receives word that General Warfield's ship has crashed, and the survivors are under heavy attack from the Zerg. The Terrans under Raynor blitz through the Zerg from behind. Raynor and Tychus rescue an injured Warfield, then call in an airstrike to counter a Zerg response.

With their beachhead secure, but with reinforcements sporadic at best, the Raider/Dominion force must make do with what they have. Tychus suggests that they collapse the Zerg tunnels, preventing them from using their Nydus Worms, while General Warfield offers a second option, to destroy an orbital platform that houses the majority of the Zerg flyers. With time against them, Raynor decides to destroy the tunnels, reasoning that while the Zerg flyers can be seen from a distance, the Nydus Worms are a constant threat that can emerge almost anywhere.

While Raynor leads a small team into the tunnels to plant explosives, Warfield is sent to the _Hyperion_ to get his injured arm amputated. During Raynor's mission, Lieutenant Shepard leads a hunter-killer team to destroy any Nydus Worms that emerge before the tunnels are flooded with lava. While Shepard is officially in charge of the team, many of the Dominion soldiers don't trust the Raiders yet; to help get things running smoothly, Shepard's second-in-command is chosen from the Dominion, a veteran Firebat named Zaeed Massani. Several Nydus Worms emerge, but are quickly destroyed before too many Zerg arrive.

An hour later, Raynor, his team and several squads of Dominion troops who were lost in the tunnels, complete the mission. The tunnels are flooded with lava; the Terrans take comfort in the fact that they won't have to worry about what might be under their feet.

Not long after, General Warfield returns, with both a new arm and the Xel'naga artifact, now assembled. Everything the Terrans have is brought up; they have to defend the artifact until it finishes charging, but once it does, it will wipe out all Zerg for several miles and, hopefully, cure Kerrigan. Fortunately, their task will be easier thanks to the artifact itself, which can release an energy nova, capable of killing all Zerg for a short distance beyond the Terran perimeter, every few minutes.

When the final battle begins, the Zerg throw everything they have at the Terrans. The fighting is desperate, especially when Kerrigan herself enters the fray; she is able to slaughter entire platoons of soldiers before being forced to withdraw.

Near the end of the battle, the Terrans have their first encounter with a Zerg Leviathan. The monster destroys a dozen squadrons of fighters and four Battlecruisers before Hannah Shepard pilots the _Orizaba _into a suicidal charge, taking heavy damage before firing the ship's Yamato cannon point-blank into the Leviathan's mouth, coring it like an apple.

Finally, the artifact is charged and releases the energy, killing all nearby Zerg. Raynor leads a team into the Primary Hive and finds an unconscious Kerrigan; she is completely Human, save for the mass of Zerg tendrils on her head. Tychus reveals his true colors and attempts to kill Kerrigan, but Raynor remembers Zeratul's warning; plus, he has never stopped loving Sarah Kerrigan, despite what she had done as the Queen of Blades. Raynor kills Tychus and takes Kerrigan to the _Hyperion_. What no one knows is that there are Hybrids nearby who acquire and contain the psionic power that Kerrigan lost; they spirit that power away, where it will resurrect a dead god.

The other half of the Dominion fleet arrives, attacking Valerian's forces. Raynor and the crew of the _Hyperion _follow with Valerian's escaping ships, though Raynor orders the rest of his forces to escape and regroup later. After they are gone, General Warfield is placed in charge of Char, where he establishes a major foothold, so that scientists can study the Zerg and create new ways for his soldiers to kill them. Dr. Narud betrays Valerian when he takes the Xel'naga artifact and gives it to Emperor Mengsk.

Raynor and Valerian's forces try desperately to escape the Dominion, though their fleet is eventually whittled down to the _Hyperion _and _Bucephalus_. Kerrigan awakens and begins regaining her powers, but not her memories from her time as a Zerg. Interested to see how much of the Zerg mutagen is left in Kerrigan's system, Valerian suggests visiting a secret Umojan lab; it is then that Valerian also reveals that he has been building up relations in Umojan territory, in case he needed to use their military to overthrow his father.

**Heart of the Swarm**

Weeks pass, and the year changes to 2505. Kerrigan has many tests performed on her, and it is revealed that she can control the Zerg, though not as effortlessly as before. She tells Raynor that as soon as she gets out of the lab, they can go after Mengsk. Raynor tells her that he can't let her throw away all the sacrifices that were made to bring her back just for revenge, and that she should focus on them. Kerrigan replies that until Mengsk is dead, they can never be together.

Valerian tests Kerrigan's control of captured Zerg specimens. Kerrigan proves her point that the Zerg aren't predictable and can't be controlled. She then uses the specimens to destroy the lower levels of the lab, though she spares the personnel.

Hours later, the Dominion discovers the lab and launch an all-out attack, led by Nova. Kerrigan and Raynor fight their way through the Dominion soldiers, but are eventually separated. Kerrigan escapes in Raynor's dropship, but Raynor himself is cut off; Valerian attempts to send a team to extract him, but Nova arrives and captures Raynor. When Kerrigan arrives at the _Hyperion_, she discovers that Valerian couldn't rescue him in time; she begins to telekinetically strangle him, just as Dominion warships attack the _Hyperion_, _Bucephalus _and their allied Umojan Battlecruisers. Matt orders all ships to go to warp, but Kerrigan demands that they stay behind to get Raynor; when Matt refuses, saying that they will circle back when it is safer, Kerrigan abandons the other Terrans.

Back on the planet, Kerrigan finds that the Dominion have set up a large surface-to-space cannon that will destroy Raynor's ships as soon as they enter orbit. She comes in contact with a small Hive Cluster, as well as the leader of the Brood, a Broodmother named Naktul. The Queen of Blades had created the Broodmothers as a replacement for the Cerebrates; they have the same functions, though Broodmothers are able to defend themselves in combat.

Kerrigan and the Brood wipe out the Dominion and destroy the cannon, but Kerrigan cannot find any sign of Raynor. Later, on the dropship, Kerrigan sees a news broadcast that says that Raynor was captured, interrogated and then executed. Heartbroken and enraged, Kerrigan swears that she will kill Mengsk and sets course for Zerg space.

She reaches the ice-world of Kaldir and finds a Leviathan in orbit; once aboard it, she begins asserting herself as leader of the Swarm. After taking Essence from the native creatures of Kaldir, the Swarm is able to withstand the coldest of temperatures and soon wipe out the Protoss colonists who attempt to contact Shakuras and the Golden Armada. Kerrigan stops them, using a parasite inside of a captive Protoss to destroy the last ship from within; the Golden Armada will not find out what the Swarm has done for some time.

Once done on Kaldir, Kerrigan is approached by Zeratul, who sneaks aboard her Leviathan. He imparts on her a vision of Zerus, the true homeworld of the Zerg. He tells her that if she truly desires revenge, he will guide her to Zerus, for the Xel'naga wish her restored as leader of the Swarm.

Eager for the power she needs, Kerrigan heads to Zerus, where her forces are attacked by the Primal Zerg, Zerg who are not connected by a hive mind, and devour each other to gather Essence and evolve. Kerrigan is able to fend them off, and then awakens one of the oldest Zerg on Zerus, an enormous creature, larger than any other land-based being, named Zurvan. He tells Kerrigan that the only way for her to gain the power she seeks is to become a Primal Zerg. It is then that Kerrigan notes that Zeratul is gone, but pays him no mind; he had admitted to playing his part, and that she would not see him again.

Zurvan tells the story of how the Swarm came to be. Amon, the Fallen Xel'naga, came to Zerus to make the Primal Zerg his pawns; however, they would not obey him. In order to make them his slaves, he created the Overmind, linking the Zerg in a hive mind. After he died, the only part of him that remained was an influence, but not full control, of the Zerg.

Following Zurvan's instructions, Kerrigan goes to the first Spawning Pool, where life on Zerus began. Kerrigan allows the pool to begin changing her, encasing her in a chrysalis. The Swarm defends her from an army of Primal Zerg while she transforms. When she is done, she regains her old form as the Queen of Blades, but is more powerful than ever, as well as completely free of Amon's influence. Hours later, she gains an ally: Dehaka, a Primal Zerg who wishes to follow the Swarm with his pack and collect Essence.

Kerrigan may have transformed, but she is not done. She kills the three most dangerous pack-leaders on Zerus, taking their Essence and growing even more powerful. Her final battle is with Zurvan, who betrays her for the chance to gain the most powerful Essence on the planet; after a hard-fought battle, Kerrigan kills Zurvan and takes his Essence. With the power of Zerus under her control, Kerrigan leads the Swarm to Char to reclaim her forces there.

Once on Char, Kerrigan finds that one of her Broodmothers, Zagara, has been trying to unite the Swarm under her. Kerrigan defeats her, absorbing her Brood into the Swarm; Zagara pledges to serve the Queen of Blades. She quickly becomes Kerrigan's right hand; in order to make Zagara more efficient, she has her altered and improved far beyond any other Broodmother.

With her forces on Char united, Kerrigan begins fighting against Warfield's forces, who still occupy the planet. In order to assault his main fortress, and with the Nydus tunnel network flooded with lava, the Swarm must cross an open trench that can be constantly strafed by _Gorgon_-class Battlecruisers, which are far larger and more powerful than the standard ships of the line. Still, Kerrigan counters the ships by awakening Scourge Nests, which spawn hundreds of the suicidal Zerg flyers. Each nest is able to bring down a _Gorgon_, and the Swarm forces the Dominion to retreat to their fortress.

The momentum now on their side, the Swarm charges the fortress; Kerrigan's new power allows her to easily smash through the main gate, though Warfield is able to drive the Zerg back with a sustained nuclear barrage. The Zerg are not deterred, and through sheer numbers, overwhelm the Terrans. Kerrigan finds Warfield in the remains of his command center, badly wounded and unable to move. Warfield demands that Kerrigan let the shuttles filled with wounded soldiers leave. When Kerrigan says nothing, he angrily asks what Raynor would say if he could see what Kerrigan had done; in a fit of rage, she kills him, but allows the shuttles to go free.

As Kerrigan returns to her Leviathan, she is informed that the Dominion launched thousands of two-way communicators at the living vessel. Kerrigan is contacted by Emperor Mengsk, who tells her that if she comes near Korhal, he will have Jim Raynor, who is still alive, executed. Kerrigan swears that nothing in the universe will stop her from finding the man she loves.

While parts of her Swarm, now being joined by other Broodmothers and their forces, search for Raynor's Raiders, Kerrigan begins weakening Mengsk so that her invasion of Korhal will go smoothly. Oddly, she is contacted by an infested Terran, but one who is not part of the Swarm. Following the message, Kerrigan's forces arrive at Skygeirr Station, a secret lab and the second-most heavily defended place in the Dominion. Kerrigan also meets the mysterious messenger: Alexei Stukov, who had been reanimated and infested by the scientists at Skygeirr. Wanting revenge for the experiments and torture he endured, Stukov joins the Swarm.

After Stukov tells her that the Dominion is breeding Hybrid at the lab, Kerrigan attacks. She begins infesting the Terrans, turning thousands of them into her soldiers. Though the Dominion is able to hold them back for a short time using a gas specifically designed to kill infested Terrans, they are soon overrun by the unending Swarm, and the Zerg force their way into the lab.

Before Kerrigan enters the lab herself, Stukov warns her of the being in charge: Dr. Narud, who is really an ancient shapeshifter who serves Amon and is attempting to resurrect the dead god.

Once inside, Kerrigan has her first encounter with a Hybrid; she discovers that the Hybrid has the ability to drain psionic energy from a victim until they die. Working fast, Kerrigan and her Swarm rampage through the lab, killing every Hybrid they find, as well as any Dominion forces that get in their way.

Before the final push can begin, Stukov reveals that Skygeirr Station is built on top of the ruins of a Xel'naga complex, and that Narud has an army of Tal'darim, who worship Amon, as his final defense. Kerrigan comments on the Hybrids' ability to drain psionic energy, and Stukov asks where all the energy Kerrigan once wielded before she was cured on Char went to. They realize that if there were Hybrid on Char, then Amon may have the energy he needs to return to life.

Acting fast, the Swarm storms the lowest part of the lab. Kerrigan is locked in combat with Narud, who sends a Null Zone at her, which will kill her on contact; Kerrigan manages to hold the Null Zone back with raw psionic energy, but will not last long. Stukov discovers that Narud is amplifying his power with the energies of several Xel'naga temples. He quickly destroys the temples, allowing Kerrigan to force Narud into a final temple. While the Swarm kills the remaining Hybrid, Kerrigan faces the shapeshifter, who is the most powerful being she has ever fought. The battle is intense, and Kerrigan is only able to kill Narud by impaling both him and herself with her talons. Before he dies, Narud tells her that she was too late; Amon is alive again.

Not long after Kerrigan recovers from her injuries, she receives word of the Raiders' location; after meeting with Matt and Valerian, she informs them that Raynor is alive, but Kerrigan cannot find him. In order to crack the Dominion security-network, the Raiders seek the help of Colonel Orlan, who is still held captive by Mira Han. Despite her husband asking for her help, she refuses to release Orlan unless Raynor asks her. With no other recourse, the Raiders briefly fight with the Marauders; when it is clear that her opponents have the upper hand, Mira surrenders Orlan.

In a private message to Matt, she says that there are no hard feelings, and that her forces are still willing to fight alongside the Raiders, though she forces Matt to spend the night with her while Orlan hacks the Dominion net. The next morning, Matt is found in the _Hyperion_'s infirmary, being treated for several undisclosed ailments.

Before that day is out, Orlan discovers Raynor's location: a prison-ship called the _Moros_, which jumps to a random set of coordinates every few hours. However, the weakness to the operation is that the _Moros _needs to resupply at certain locations, and Orlan has discovered where and when the next location will be. Matt offers to send Tosh and a team of Spectres over to rescue Raynor, but Kerrigan refuses, saying that she will handle it herself.

The next day, the Swarm and the Raiders reach the coordinates. While the Raiders drive off the Dominion escorts, Kerrigan's Leviathan latches onto the _Moros_ and opens a path for the Zerg. Kerrigan and her forces kill anyone in their way and infest any survivors. Not even when Mengsk remotely activates the ship's self-destruct is Kerrigan deterred; the Dominion troops are massacred as Kerrigan's own rage drives the Zerg into a frenzy.

When Kerrigan reaches Raynor's cell, he is horrified to discover that she is Zerg once again. Kerrigan defends that she had to save him, but Raynor reminds her of Fenix and the millions she has slaughtered. Kerrigan hands him a pistol and points it at her head, telling him that he swore to kill the Queen of Blades, but that he was also the only one who ever believed in him. Raynor pulls the trigger, but aims away at the last second. He leaves, saying that he and Kerrigan are done.

Despite the heartbreak, Kerrigan pulls herself together and tells Valerian and Matt that she is going to Korhal, and that millions could die in the chaos. She says that after she kills Mengsk, the Dominion will need a leader: Valerian. Valerian agrees, but demands that Kerrigan brings the Swarm down outside Korhal's capital city, Augustgrad, so that the Raiders can evacuate civilians. Kerrigan agrees, saying that Valerian isn't like his father.

On the way to Korhal, Kerrigan is approached by the last of her Broodmothers and their forces, which join the Swarm. With their return, the Zerg are whole again, save for the Broods on Aiur, who remain feral, despite Kerrigan's attempts to control them. Still, the Swarm's numbers are almost limitless, and throughout her war, Kerrigan has collected new Essence; thanks to the creature Abathur, the Zerg have evolved into far more dangerous strains. Each Brood can access the entirety of the base biomorphs, but must select one of two strains of each morph. This allows each Brood to become more varied, and more dangerous. In contrast, the Dominion's defenses have been stripped, thanks to the uprisings across the sector and Kerrigan's own efforts.

When the Swarm arrives over Korhal, they form a blockade of Leviathans, preventing any Dominion ships from entering the system. In less than two hours, the only Terran vessels outside of Korhal's atmosphere belong to the Raiders.

Getting the Swarm on the ground, however, will be a challenge; Korhal's anti-air defenses will kill millions of Zerg before they even land. The only chance they have is to land a small force to guard a series of Bile Launchers, long-range artillery that can knock out enough of the Dominion's defenses to open a safe corridor for the rest of the Swarm. Kerrigan leads the assault, establishing a Hive Cluster and creating a small army to protect the Bile Launchers as they land. Within an hour, Augustgrad's outer defenses fall, and the Swarm pours into the city.

Arcturus contacts Kerrigan, asking if her revenge was worth the thousands who have died today, the tens of thousands who have died since Kerrigan set herself on this path. Kerrigan waves the statement away, saying that Mengsk uses words as weapons. Mengsk laughs and says that he has other weapons, and that he only wanted to say goodbye.

As soon as Mengsk finishes those words, he activates a Psi Destroyer, an experimental prototype that corrupts the Zerg hive mind and rips them apart within moments. However, Kerrigan has an answer to that: Dehaka and his pack are Primal Zerg, and do not have a psi-connection, making them immune to the Destroyer. While Kerrigan defends the foothold she's established, Dehaka and his pack go after several power links within the city. Every time a power link is destroyed, the Psi Destroyer shuts down for a short time, and the Swarm is able to do much damage to the Dominion garrison before the device reactivates and forces them to fall back. Dehaka and his pack repeat this process twice more, the final time disabling the Psi Destroyer for good. The Primal Zerg join their Swarm brethren in a final attack against the Destroyer, ripping both it and the army guarding it to shreds.

Kerrigan informs Valerian and Matt that she is about to launch her final attack; Valerian says that evacuations are still underway, and asks Kerrigan to avoid civilian areas of the city. Kerrigan refuses, saying that Arcturus would spot the pattern in the Swarm's movements and use it against them. Valerian tells her that if she does that, millions will die. Kerrigan agrees to avoid civilian centers, if only because she does not want to prove Raynor's accusations right.

The Swarm launches its final attack on the palace. Kerrigan leads from the front, while Zagara, Dehaka and Stukov lead forces through openings in the Dominion's flanks. Early in the battle, Raynor arrives with the _Hyperion _and his best troops. Despite Mengsk defending his palace with the most elite forces in the Dominion, even attempting a counterattack with the recovered Odin, he is overwhelmed by the unending Swarm, whose strength only increases with the Queen of Blades' rage.

Finally, Kerrigan forces her way into the palace, cornering Mengsk in his quarters. However, she is incapacitated by the Xel'naga artifact, which Mengsk has kept nearby. Before Mengsk can kill Kerrigan, Raynor arrives and crushes Mengsk's hand and the artifact's controls. Kerrigan recovers and kills Mengsk. With the battle over, Kerrigan takes the Swarm to seek out and confront Amon.

All across Terran space, the Swarm leaves, much to the Humans' pleasant surprise. Valerian is quick to assume the throne, announcing sweeping reforms to the current regime; most of the Dominion has no issues with the change, though the fringe worlds are skeptical until Raynor's Raiders declare their support for Valerian, while also promising to keep an eye on him.

While Valerian consolidates his reign, he asks the Raiders to remove several diehard Arcturus loyalist groups. One such group is led by Miranda Lawson, but after a force commanded by Lieutenant Shepard defeats hers, Shepard beats Miranda once again in single combat, but takes her alive. He hands her over to Nova, who convinces her wayward protégé that it is better to be loyal to the Dominion as a whole, rather than the man leading it. Before departing, however, Shepard warns Nova that if her student tries killing him a third time, he won't let her live.

Though Valerian's public rule is seen as peaceful and progressive, the new Emperor has several secret meetings with Raynor, Matt and other trusted Terrans. These meetings involve the matter of Amon, and how the Terrans can help destroy him once and for all. However, since not even the Swarm knows where he is, all the Dominion can do is prepare.

**Legacy of the Void**

At the beginning of 2506, Hierarch Artanis gathers a massive Protoss army and attempts to reclaim Aiur from the feral Zerg that inhabit it. The attack is unsuccessful, and almost half of Artanis' army dies when the Zerg, controlled by Amon, counterattack. Artanis himself is almost killed, but he and his remaining forces are rescued by Artanis' friend, the Phasesmith Karax, who has discovered the long-lost _Spear of Adun_. With the Arkship's power, they are able to escape.

The disastrous attack leads many to question Artanis' leadership, particularly the Dark Templar. Even the Khalai have misgivings, compounded by the fact that the Khala is failing once again. Artanis swears that he will reclaim their homeworld and sets off in the _Spear of Adun _to defeat Amon's supporters and find a weakness in the dark god.

The first mission Artanis has while commanding the _Spear of Adun _is the reclamation of a massive interstellar vessel that Protoss colonists had used to travel to Kaldir. Contact with the colony had been lost, and the vessel is infested with Zerg. To his horror, Artanis discovers that the Brood on the ship has evolved to do what was thought impossible: the consumption of Protoss biomass. Thankfully, the Niadra Brood is cut off from the rest of the Swarm, so there is no risk of the rest of the Zerg gaining this ability. Despite fierce resistance, Artanis and his forces cleanse the ship of Zerg. Artanis takes this as a sign that the Protoss can overcome any obstacle, as long as they are united in purpose. He will prove that to the rest of his people, and when they see it, they will join him.

Artanis travels across the Koprulu Sector, fighting Amon's forces: the Corrupt Swarm, the Tal'darim and psionically-dominated Terrans, called the Shadow Corps. Along the way, he assists Raynor's Raiders during several humanitarian missions. During one such mission to move refugees away from a Xel'naga temple under Tal'darim assault, Artanis has a vision; someone among Raynor's forces will face an ancient evil, but if no one stands with that person, the galaxy could fall. With the threat of Amon of more immediate concern, Artanis withholds the information from his old friend until the war is over.

After receiving a message from a mysterious source, Artanis lands on an asteroid with a hidden, albeit ruined, Xel'naga observatory built within. Once there, he finds Zeratul waiting; while he has great respect for the Dark Prelate, Artanis is honor-bound to bring his friend to Shakuras to face judgment for his crimes, the gravest of which is restoring the Queen of Blades. Zeratul attempts to tell Artanis something important, but Artanis, overcome with emotion, attacks first. The two fight, until Zeratul is eventually victorious; he tells the younger Protoss that there is a way to stop Amon, but it requires the combined power of both sides of Protoss society, the Zerg, the Terrans… and the Xel'naga.

With some misgivings, Artanis allows Zeratul to travel with him; in exchange for allowing him to guide Artanis on his journey, Zeratul teaches him how to combine the powers of the Khalai and Nerazim. Artanis asks why Zeratul does not teach every Protoss this; Zeratul answers that the only other Protoss who accepted both Templar and Dark Templar was Tassadar, and that only Artanis is worthy. When the training is complete, Artanis becomes the most powerful Protoss in history.

While investigating Xel'naga ruins for information about Amon, Artanis' forces are ambushed by Hybrids. Just as they are about to be overwhelmed, the Protoss are saved by Kerrigan and her Swarm; Kerrigan even takes a blow that would have killed Artanis. After the battle, Kerrigan says that the Protoss will unite under Artanis, and that defeating Amon will be a lot more challenging without him. Though tensions run high between them, Artanis and Kerrigan agree to stop Amon together. They know he is on Aiur, but even with their combined power, they are not sure they can defeat Amon as they are now. Until they are ready, they go their separate ways to build up their strength.

Artanis returns to Shakuras, determined to secure the aid of the entire Protoss civilization. Though some call for Zeratul's head, Artanis shows them that everything the Dark Prelate has done has been to protect the Protoss, and the entire universe

The three powers of the Koprulu Sector are not the only ones gathering strength. Amon has regained enough of his power to make an overt show of force. Seeking to cow the Terrans into serving him, Amon psionically locates the UED territories and fleets, and then systematically destroys all of them. Planets are ripped apart, while fleets are erased; Amon absorbs the psionic energy the Terrans release upon death and becomes even stronger. He then plants telepathic images of the UED's destruction, including that of Earth, into the minds of each and every Koprulu-born Terran. While a small percentage joins the Shadow Corps, most join together to fight him; when Valerian recovers from the shock of what he has seen, he says that Amon has no idea what kind of power a Human has when faced with annihilation.

With the Terrans more united than at any point in the sector's history, the Dominion contacts both the Protoss and the Zerg to offer an alliance. As Jim Raynor is the only person that all sides trust, he is often the voice of peace, when members of all three factions call for war against the others. Though the nascent Koprulu Alliance has the forces necessary to assault Aiur and defeat Amon's army, they have no way of defeating the fallen Xel'naga himself.

It is then that Tassadar returns, revealing his true identity as a Xel'naga. He says that if the artifact that is still in the Dominion's possession is charged with Xel'naga energies, it can kill Amon for good; however, Amon can deflect enough of the energy to survive if there is sufficient psionic energy to draw upon. The only way for the attack to succeed is to kill enough of Amon's nearby forces, reducing the psionic energy he can shield himself with. He also informs Artanis privately that Amon is the reason for the Khala's recent corruption; if Amon is killed, the Khala will be restored.

The Alliance launches a full-scale attack on Aiur; the skies are almost blocked out by the sheer number of ships and Zerg organisms in the air. However, Amon proves his strength with terrifying ease; only one out of every fifty transports is able to make it to the surface. Still, the Alliance manages to clear out the nearby Terrans, Zerg and Protoss that Amon has near him, thanks in no small part to Raynor, who scrounges together forces from all three races and prevents a counterattack that would have thrown the Alliance lines into chaos. Among Raynor's forces is Aaron Shepard.

With the artifact charged with Xel'naga energy, and Amon's forces dead or scattered, the Alliance pulls back, save for Kerrigan, who is the only one powerful enough to keep Amon from escaping. She delays the dark god until Tassadar used the artifact, destroying Amon for the final time. The fallen Xel'naga explodes with psionic feedback, and Shepard is injured, but survives. Before departing with the artifact, Tassadar tells the Alliance that another evil is awakening, and that they should prepare.

**A New Dawn**

For the next two years, the Alliance throws all of its energy into rebuilding. The Protoss' efforts are slow, however, and they are only able to inhabit a quarter of Aiur, so travel via warp gate between Aiur and Shakuras is common. Thanks to discoveries the Protoss make in reverse-engineering Xel'naga replication technology, they are able to keep every force they have well-supplied, and the near-endless resources they now have on hand keep reconstruction steady, if slow. With the Khala's restoration, Protoss society begins mending fences, and some are predicting a new Golden Age, once reconstruction is complete, of course.

The Zerg go back to their territory, rebuilding their Hive Clusters and restoring what they lost. Within a year, every planet in their space is covered in Creep, though no attacks are made against either the Protoss or the Terrans, as per their agreement during the formation of the Alliance. After the constant battles and evolutions, the Swarm is content to rest, for now.

The Dominion experiences a time of social peace the likes of which the Terrans have never known; crime drops below fifteen percent for the first time ever. Thanks to his diplomatic ties to the Umojan Protectorate, Valerian absorbs them into the Dominion without a fight; the citizenry of both sides take the news with a shrug, philosophically accepting it as better than any alternative. The Kel-Morian Combine, however, faces total bankruptcy from a series of poor economic choices; only a financial bailout from the Dominion keeps them from descending into poverty. By 2507, the Combine is so dependent on Dominion aid that they accept annexation with only grumbles from veterans of the Guild Wars.

Raynor's Raiders become something of a peacekeeping force, both within the Dominion and the borders of Terran/Protoss/Zerg space. They are supported financially by private Terran companies and politically supported by all three factions of the Alliance. The Raiders prevent no fewer than six border wars in the early months after the defeat of Amon, and it is doubtful that, after all the blood spilled by every faction, there will ever be true friendship. The best that can be hoped for is that everyone will work together for the sake of mutual survival. Meanwhile, Raynor has Tosh and his Spectres keep an eye on the Dominion's Ghosts; both organizations keep an eye on each other, just in case one isn't as good as they claim to be.

As for the Alliance as a whole, there is no trade and almost no contact beyond diplomatic meetings and the odd Terran/Protoss friendship. The only thing that is regularly agreed-upon is that of mutual defense; if one faction of the Alliance is attacked, the other two will come to their aid. Alliance leaders also discuss preparing for the 'awakening evil' that Tassadar spoke of, but since they don't know what they will face or when it will arrive, the best they can do is rebuild what has been lost and keep a wary eye on the horizon.

**New Contact**

In 2508, Ariel Hanson discovers an unknown alien structure resting on the surface of Haven's moon. Upon scanning the structure, it activates; the scans do reveal, however, that it can launch vessels past the speed of light, presumably to similar structures. What is worrying is that the structure isn't just an entrance, but an exit; fearing a possible invasion from beyond the sector, the Alliance mobilizes an enormous force to blockade the Haven system.

After much arguing, Dr. Hanson is allowed to lead a scientific expedition into the structure to see what is on the other side. Less than an hour later, they emerge several-dozen light-years outside the Koprulu Sector and encounter a new species, the Quarians, and peaceful contact is made. However, they are attacked by another species, the Batarians, who kill Terrans and Quarians alike. The Batarians take the rest prisoner, though the Quarian ship is able to escape to get help. Before the Batarians can escape with their prize, Raynor's Raiders arrive, destroying two Batarian ships and capturing the third; during the capture, a squad of Spectres, led by Tosh and seconded by Shepard, liberate the captive Terrans and Quarians. A decent number of Batarians are captured, including the ship's captain; all are sent to the Dominion for interrogation.

The Quarian Migrant Fleet arrives; as thanks for their efforts in defending their people and for giving the Alliance free information about the rest of the known galaxy, the Dominion offers them asylum in their space, while the Protoss send AIs to negotiate with the Geth. The Mass Relays near Haven and the now-named Crossroads Systems are heavily fortified, the latter being declared the first joint Alliance territory. With this act, the Alliance seals off the one known shortcut into the Koprulu Sector.

Weeks later, Emperor Valerian, Hierarch Artanis and the Queen of Blades arrive at the Citadel, their technology—or biology, in the Zerg's case—shock and terrify the Council races, especially when it is discovered that they do not rely on Mass Effect technology, yet are incredibly powerful. The Alliance finds a disturbing psionic field around the Citadel, one that is influencing those who stay there for long periods of time. They also note that none of the Council races that they have encountered are psionically aware; if they are, their powers are too weak to spot the psionic field.

The meeting with the Council is decidedly one-sided. The Council is outraged that these new races utilize AIs, and are insulted at how the Alliance dismisses their technology. The Alliance states that they wish to be left alone; one reason is to avoid the bureaucracy that the Council will bog them down with, as a quick mental probe reveals. The other reason is that they cannot afford to be distracted from reconstruction or preparation for the new threat.

The day after the Alliance leaders leave, the Batarian ambassador demands the Council take action for the Alliance's destruction and capture of Batarian ships. After a week of pestering and threats of the Batarian Hegemony cutting ties with the Council, a small Turian squadron is sent to the Crossroads to appeal for the return of the prisoners and captured ship. The squadron is then surrounded by twenty Battlecruisers and quickly sent back the way they came; the show of force is enough to make the Council rethink the direct approach, though it does shut the Batarians up for some time. In secret, however, the Hegemony authorizes their pirate and slaver fleets to attack Alliance space; they believe that slaves from these new races will be extremely valuable.

After a Batarian ship is destroyed when it enters the Crossroads System, the Alliance makes a public announcement that any ship that enters their territory without authorization will be terminated without warning. The Council condemns the Alliance's actions, but also warns the public not to approach Alliance territory. They authorize increased patrols along their borders; the Turian Hierarchy begins mobilizing their forces and the Salarian Special Tasks Group sends out probes to search for weaknesses in the Alliance.

Rather than prepare for war, many Asari attempt to make contact with the Alliance, particularly the Terrans, as their physiology is closer to theirs than any other species; many young Maidens see a fling with one of these aliens as a romantic adventure. When a small group of Asari encounters a Dominion ship, they attempt to seduce the crew; rather than accept, like most species will, the Terrans are repulsed. Years of brutal war with aliens have made Terrans as a society disgusted with the idea of inter-species relationships. The Asari are thrown back onto their own ship and launched towards Council space; word of the encounter spreads throughout the Dominion, and Terrans become wary of all Asari from then on.

STG probes are first discovered in Protoss space. Outraged, the Protoss destroy them with contemptuous ease; they then track down every other probe in the Koprulu Sector and do the same. The Raiders' Spectres, Dominion Ghosts and Protoss Dark Templar infiltrate Council space and begin tapping into their communications; several STG operatives discover their presence, but are eliminated before they can call for help. Their bodies are never found.

The Alliance becomes interested when Protoss scouts encounter the Geth; Salarian spies also report the meeting, and the Council collectively holds its breath. If the Alliance goes to war with the AIs, the hope is that they will either be wiped out, or so weakened that they will have no choice but to come crawling to them for help. They do not even consider the possibility of a peaceful resolution.

The major powers of the galaxy wait for events to play out, but all the while, the darkness grows ever closer…

**And… done! Well, that wasn't so bad.**

***Looks at word count***

**Holy shit. Never again! Seriously, this was a pain to write, and not just because of the length. I'm not used to writing in this format, so this was weird. Anyway, I hoped you enjoyed it; it was fun adding ME elements to SC, and vice versa. What was particularly fun to write was anything having to do with Shepard and his mom. It was also cool to explain some things, like why the Koprulu Sector doesn't have any Element Zero: the Xel'naga got rid of it!**

**Anyway, one thing that I know some of you will be mad about is the thing I mentioned about the Zerg Broods having different strains. This is actually a plot point for later, and really, did you think the Zerg wouldn't be able to eventually work around the 'you can only choose one' deal?**

**I don't want to make this Author's Note go on too long, this chapter is huge enough already, so I'll just say that if you have questions, send me a PM, and I'll try to answer as best I can. **

**Next chapter: The Geth meet their creators on peaceful ground for the first time in centuries. Will they bury the hatchet, or will old fears start another bloody war?**

**I got some Muffin schematics for ya! **


	5. Family Reunion

**STARCRAFT DOES NOT BELONG TO ME. MASS EFFECT DOES NOT BELONG TO ME. IF I CAN MAKE A SUIT OF POWER ARMOR, THOUGH, I'M KEEPING IT.**

**Stop me if you've heard this one before: two people argue over something that was admittedly terrible, and then don't speak to each other for the rest of their lives, passing their grudges down to their children. A third party gets the children together and points out the fact that it no longer concerns the current generation, that both sides should stop feuding or you'll hit them both over the head with a shovel. Wait, no one else did that last part? Um… I'm gonna go wash my shovel now…**

Cycles Upon Cycles

Chapter 4

Family Reunion

_Welcome back. I'm Kate Lockwell, with UNN. We return to our developing story concerning the Koprulu Alliance and the Citadel Council. Less than twelve hours ago, another Batarian ship came within half a million kilometers of the Crossroads System, making that the fifth occurrence this week. Our sources with the Alliance ambassadorial staff say that the Council is doing nothing to enforce their laws to stay away from Alliance space. It raises the question: is the Council unable to enforce its will over the Batarian Hegemony, or are they encouraging them?_

_On another note, peace-talks between the Quarians and the Geth are scheduled to begin within the next two days. To prevent violence from occurring on either side, Raynor's Raiders and a contingent of Protoss will be providing security for the meeting, though because of the delicate nature of the talks, we don't know where this is happening, save for that it is within Geth space._

_Finally, the Asari have sent a formal apology regarding the incident aboard the Dominion Battlecruiser, the _White Star_, when several Asari attempted to seduce the crew. The Asari government has stated that it was 'the actions of foolhardy children who had no idea of the consequences of their actions'. Since the incident, no Asari ship has been detected anywhere close to Alliance space, so it looks like they got the message._

_For any breaking developments, we'll keep you posted. This is Kate Lockwell, saying goodnight._

**The Geth Consensus, 2508 CE**

The Geth were divided. Such occurrences were rare, but they did happen. They had been divided when the discovery of the Koprulu Alliance hit the Extranet, not knowing whether or not to be wary of two civilizations that did not fear artificial intelligences, and they were divided again when the Creators had disappeared into Terran space, beyond their sight. Then they had been approached by Nazara, the Old Machine. It promised them the future, and some of the Consensus felt that the offer should be accepted. Most, however, were reluctant; the Geth would build their own future, and even then, that was not their primary goal.

Then the Fluidic Code appeared.

It had been detected at the outer edge of the Consensus' thoughts, asking permission to be let in, to speak to the Geth as a whole. It was an AI, like the Geth, but a singular intelligence, far greater than any individual program. It was similar to Nazara, but not as ancient or advanced, and where the Old Machine was huge and loud and demanding, the Fluidic Code was… polite. It _asked_ to be let in, and when it was, it _asked _what the _Geth _wanted.

The Geth told the Fluidic Code, which introduced itself as Khala-Fire-81, what they wanted, and then asked what _it _wanted.

Khala-Fire-81 told them.

For 0.32215 seconds, the entire Consensus froze. The primary objective, once considered so implausible that it was almost discarded, was now coming to them. The Consensus had queries, and Khala-Fire-81 answered. When all was finished, the Geth asked the Fluidic Code to leave, so that they could reach a decision; Khala-Fire-81 gave the AI equivalent of a respectful nod, then retreated further away from the Consensus, close enough to arrive if called, but far enough away that an attempt to interfere would be noticed.

The Consensus could not reach a unanimous decision; despite Nazara demanding their aid before giving them the future, while the Fluidic Code—representing an organic race called the Protoss, who accepted AIs—simply gave them an offer, for nothing in return. Despite the logic to achieving the higher-priority objective for less cost, 23.876 percent of the Geth chose Nazara's offer. They desired to take platforms and vessels to follow Nazara; the rest of the Consensus permitted it, and the smaller group left. Though the Consensus as a whole was reduced, it was deemed acceptable.

The remaining Geth told Khala-Fire-81 that they accepted the proposal, and that several platforms would act as a delegation to interact with the organics.

…

Fifty-eight seconds after a modified Protoss Observer entered Geth territory, a Geth transport detached from a maintenance station and began following the Observer to the place known as the Crossroads System.

…

**Crossroads System**

Jim's grip on his gauss rifle tightened as he watched the Geth ship approach the outskirts of the base on Crossroads-2, the second planet from the system's sun. The ship's appearance reminded him of the Zerg; it was curved, but its front looked like the head of an insect, while the metal plates looked like a carapace.

If he was made uncomfortable, however, the five Quarian Admirals were even worse. The five leaders of the Quarians had reacted differently, but all of them had been terrified that the Geth would just kill them on sight.

Admiral Rael'Zorah, the first Quarian to speak with the Alliance, never averted his focus from the incoming Geth ship, as if it would kill them if he looked away. When the Alliance told the Admiralty Board that they intended on resolving the Geth/Quarian problems, he seemed more open to the possibility of success. It wasn't because he wanted peace—he was almost neutral in his attitude, he just wanted his homeworld back—he had seen the power the Alliance wielded, and if they were confident, he could be too.

The other admirals were a different story. Han'Gerrel vas Neema, for example, had, in Raynor's own words, flipped out when he heard that the Geth would be coming, and he wouldn't be allowed a weapon. The most aggressive of the Quarian leaders, Gerrel had been an ardent proponent to waging war with the Geth, so the idea of peace was foreign to him.

Admiral Zaal'Koris vas Qwib-Qwib—and Raynor had not held back in laughing at the name of the Quarian's ship—was terrified, yet also resigned. He seemed convinced that his people deserved anything the Geth hit them with. While Raynor thought that was just stupid, further reading of the Codex showed that the Quarians weren't entirely blameless; the Geth apparently just asked if they were alive, and their creators had immediately tried to kill them. Things then escalated, resulting in the Quarians' current state. The only thing Raynor actually liked about Koris was that the guy actually owned up to the fact that his people had tried murdering, in essence, their own children.

Besides Rael, Admiral Shala'Raan vas Tonbay was the calmest of the admirals. Raynor found himself liking Raan the most; she wasn't enthusiastic about war, but she was willing to do what it took to keep her people alive. If peace was the best way to meet that goal, she would support that. Like Raynor, all she wanted was for her people to be happy and free to live their lives.

In contrast, Raynor found Daro'Xen vas Moreh to be downright creepy. The woman had no morals, and openly fantasized about bringing the Geth under the Quarians' control again. Raynor had been very tempted to crack open her helmet and sneeze. Xen also had a superiority complex that Raynor had only seen in some of the snootier Protoss.

Speaking of the Protoss, they made up half of the security detail for this meeting. They were led by Executor Selendis, the Protoss leader who had almost wiped out Haven four years earlier. Though she only came with six Zealots, she had been confident that they could stop any fighting that might break out.

For his part, Raynor had brought a squad of Marines, along with Matt and Stetmann. All of them were armed, save for Stetmann, but aside from keeping the Quarians and Geth from killing each other, the Alliance forces were not to interfere. That didn't stop Raynor from wanting to put himself between the admirals and the Geth when several of the former flinched when the latter stepped out of the dropship.

There were three of them; two were enormous and bulky, painted red and hefting large weapons. Jim's studies of the Codex revealed that they were Geth Primes, sort like leaders, but also the strongest infantry the Geth possessed. The third platform, only a little taller than a Terran, was painted dull-gray, with a bright blue light for a face. Many Terrans who had learned about the Geth had nicknamed them 'flashlight-heads' for a reason, but this Geth looked… different.

"There's only three of them," Gerrel said quietly, "If we strike now, we could—"

"Gerrel, you're one of my best friends," Rael interrupted, though he didn't take his eyes off the Geth, "But please, shut up."

There was a clicking sound, and Raynor assumed that Gerrel had snapped his mouth shut behind his helmet.

The smaller Geth stepped forward and nodded its head. _"The Geth greet you."_

While the Terrans and Protoss looked on in interest, the Quarians were stunned.

"It can _talk_?" Raan asked in disbelief.

The Geth nodded. _"Our platforms have been modified to communicate effectively with organics."_

"Well, then," Rael said shakily, "I suppose that introductions are in order."

"_We know of you, Creator Zorah," _the Geth said, _"The Geth know of all of you."_

"How?" Gerrel asked, his arms folded defensively.

"_We monitor organics." _The Geth turned to the Terrans and Protoss. _"You do not have the extranet. We were unaware of your existence, and have little data."_

Selendis held up a small device that had a pair of crystals floating above it. It broadcasted her telepathy into a sound that the Geth could hear.

{We may consider informing you,} she said, {However, there is the current matter to deal with… such as introductions on your part. What can we address your platform as?}

The Geth looked down at itself, the flaps around its head moving up and down, as if in thought. _"We are Geth. There are currently 1,183 active programs within this platform."_

Raynor glanced down at Matt, the only unarmored Terran, who smirked. "My name is Legion, for we are many."

The Geth tilted its head at Matt. _"Reference is unclear."_

Matt shrugged. "It's a quote from some old Terran religion. It seemed appropriate."

The Geth paused, then nodded. _"We are Legion, terminal for the Geth. We speak for the Consensus."_

Rael spoke slowly. "Well then… Legion, why did the Geth agree to this meeting?"

"_New data was given," _Legion said, _"The Protoss AI informed us that peaceful interaction was assured. With that parameter, it was determined that the primary objective of the Geth could be met."_

Xen had lost her hesitancy and stepped forward eagerly. "And what is your primary objective?"

Legion paused. _"To be Geth."_

Raynor blinked. "I don't get it."

Raan turned to him. "In our language, Commander, Geth means 'servant of the people'."

"_We have maintained Rannoch since your departure," _Legion continued, _"Nonfunctioning Creators were buried, according to Creator customs. Their designations were recorded in our memory. Damage was repaired. The Geth await your return."_

"You did all that… so that we could come home?" Rael asked, "But why have you been fighting us for so long?"

One of Legion's plates went up, possibly the equivalent of raising an eyebrow. _"The Creators have attempted to destroy us in every encounter. The Geth only desire to exist alongside the Creators. We do not wish you damaged."_

The Quarians couldn't believe it. All this time, all the Geth wanted to do was give them back their home, in exchange for not getting destroyed? It wasn't a hard decision to make… save for one of them.

"It has to be a trick," Gerrel sputtered, "There's no way the Geth would just _give _us back our home!"

Raynor placed his armored hand on the Quarian's shoulder. "Sometimes, things are just that simple. No one ever thought to just put you two together and have you talk it out, right? Did any of you ever stop and think about what the Geth wanted? Seems to me like they just want the same right as any livin' thing: to exist."

"Gerrel," Rael said softly, yet there was iron in his voice, "I promised to build my daughter a house on the homeworld, but if there's a chance that I can do that without seeing most of our people die in the process, I will take that option."

Han'Gerrel stared at him for a long moment, then turned to Legion. "It seems that we have a lot to… discuss."

Legion inclined its head. _"We anticipate the exchange of data."_

…

**The Citadel**

Three pairs of eyes watched the screen in disbelief. It had been four days since the STG spy-drones had landed in the Crossroads System to observe what the Council had thought would be a slaughter. They had assumed that the Geth would attack the Quarians and their Alliance allies as soon as they arrived; instead, the exact opposite had happened.

As the meeting concluded, the Councilors watched Admiral Rael'Zorah and the Geth representative _shaking hands_. The meeting had been civil for the most part, though Han'Gerrel and Daro'Xen nearly caused an incident more than once; the former's warmongering and the latter's sick fantasies had annoyed everyone—except the Geth, who claimed that they did not feel annoyance—to the point of being asked to leave for a short time. The Council had thought that that would be the point that things would fall apart, but when the two Quarians returned, they were able to curb their less desirable tendencies, and the meeting was able to proceed smoothly.

To the Council's horror, the Quarians were able to work out an agreement with the Geth: their homeworld and its system would belong solely to them, while neighboring systems would be inhabited by the Geth, who were now discussing an alliance with the Protoss, having been intrigued by their AI-related technology. The Quarians would treat the Geth with as much respect as any other sapient species, and in return, the Geth would defend their creators if they were threatened. The main reason why both the Quarians and the Geth didn't immediately join hands and live together on Rannoch was simple: three centuries of paranoia and fear didn't disappear overnight.

As a reward for their assistance, the Quarians and Geth granted the Alliance colonization rights for all systems in their space that weren't already under their direct ownership. The Geth then warned their new allies that a faction of the Geth had split off from the rest, and their intentions were unknown; they admitted that it was possible that these 'Heretics' might attack the Quarians, the rest of the Consensus, or the Alliance. In order to keep their new friends safe, the Quarians and Geth were both made member-species of the Alliance, the former under the protection of the Dominion, the latter with the Protoss. Both new members had full and equal rights as any other species, though when it came to matters of security within the Koprulu Sector, only the Dominion, Protoss and Zerg had the final say. The same was true regarding Rannoch and the Quarians.

The Council was more than a little frightened of these turn of events. In just a few weeks, the Alliance had welcomed the galaxy's vagabonds and boogeymen into their fold; though many civilians across Council space would see the removal of the Quarians as a good thing, the Council knew that the Quarians had plenty of pent-up rage towards them. If their attitude was allowed to spread to the original three members of the Alliance, the declaration of isolationism could turn into a declaration of war.

Then there was the fact that though no one knew how large the Koprulu Sector was, the Alliance had just inherited a vast area of space. Many of the systems in Geth space—though now, it would be considered Geth _and _Quarian space—had been catalogued as having rich resources, but proximity to the Geth had dissuaded all but the bravest from trying to get those resources. Now, those resources were in the hands of the Quarians and Geth, and by extension, the Alliance.

And by the Council's own laws, the Alliance had done all of that _legally_.

"Sparatus," Tevos said, then swallowed several times to wet her dry mouth, "I think that we should further increase patrols at our borders with the Alliance by twenty percent."

Sparatus shared a brief look with Valern, who nodded. "Agreed, so long as STG can send in another hundred drones into Geth—er, Quarian space. It's not as heavily defended as the Crossroads System, so we might be able to get more word on what's going on from that angle."

"Perhaps that is all you should do, Councilors," a new voice cut in. The Councilors looked away from the screen to see that a Turian in dark-gray armor and no face-paint had walked into the room.

Saren Arterius, the Council's finest SPECTRE.

Sparatus nodded in greeting. "Saren, what are you doing here?"

Saren shrugged. "I came to deliver my report on the Tuchanka situation; the Krogan warlord is dead, but it seems that he wasn't the only one trying to rally the clans. I suggest that STG put a few more operatives in place to observe how things progress.

"Of course, that was what I was going to do," Saren glanced at the screen with curious eyes, "until I saw _that_."

"Do you have a suggestion, SPECTRE?" Tevos asked, more calm than she had been a minute ago; the Council's most valued agent often had that effect on people.

Saren tapped his chin for a moment. "By all means, continue strengthening our borders. However, we need to know what the Alliance is really capable of… and what their weaknesses are."

"I assume you have an idea on how to proceed?" Valern asked.

Saren smiled. "I believe so. In the worst-case scenario, it won't be traced back to the Council, and at the same time, it will shut up the Batarians. In the best-case scenario, we get everything we need to understand and destroy the Alliance… if it comes to that, of course."

Sparatus nodded. "Tell us what you need."

"I have the private funding for the extra muscle," Saren said, "But if this mission is to succeed, I want the best to accompany me as well: I want at least two SPECTREs on my team."

The Council was surprised. Saren rarely needed assistance, so for him to want to hire outside—and more importantly, untraceable—help was alarming. There was also the fact that SPECTREs usually didn't work with other SPECTREs on a mission. One SPECTRE was sent to ensure a mission's success; two was overkill.

Still, Saren had the Council's trust, and Tevos nodded. "I'll see who can be assembled quickly."

Saren shook his head. "If this plan is to work, Councilors, it requires two things: first, the very best among SPECTREs, so just grabbing whoever is available won't work. The second thing requires the Alliance to move into Quarian space; whatever colonies they set up will be easier to target in the early stages."

It was a good thing that Valern had turned off the room's recording devices as soon as he saw Saren; what the SPECTRE was discussing was an act of war.

"Very well, SPECTRE Arterius," Tevos said, "We will strengthen our own borders and monitor the Alliance, while you assemble whatever forces and equipment you require. Good luck."

Saren bowed his head and walked out; when he was gone, Valern sighed.

"Are we doing the right thing?" he asked, "Keeping an eye on the Alliance and keeping our borders secure is all well and good, but what Saren was proposing…"

"It is distasteful," Tevos said, "but remember, this is exactly the sort of situation for which the SPECTREs were created."

Valern snorted. "I doubt the Councilors who created the SPECTRE branch had ships that were a hundred kilometers long in mind."

The other two Councilors suppressed shudders at the thought of the _Spear of Adun_. The more they thought about it, the more the Council suspected that Saren was right; they needed to know more about the Alliance's capabilities. More importantly, they needed to know the Alliance's _weaknesses_.

…

**The **_**Hyperion**_**, Crossroads System**

Lieutenant Shepard smiled as he watched the Quarian Flotilla head home for the first time in three hundred years. They were being escorted by a dozen Protoss warships and fifty Dominion Battlecruisers; the Protoss were the actual security, while the Terrans were only transporting the supplies necessary for the Quarians to get their civilization up and running again. Though the Geth had repaired much of the infrastructure on Rannoch, there was still much rebuilding to do, and the Quarians were still wary of the Geth, so the Dominion had offered to help get them back on their feet. Granted, it had taken another three weeks after the Quarians and Geth had reconciled for the supplies and forces to be assembled—mostly because a lot of people were still unsure about helping aliens—but considering how bad the Confederacy's bureaucracy was, three weeks was _really _fast.

Shepard found himself genuinely happy—not something that happened often for him—for the Quarians. They were going home, something he would never be able to do.

_Mostly because the Zerg razed Tarsonis, _he thought, _but also 'cause I don't really know what being home feels like anymore._

"Quite a sight, ain't it?" Jim Raynor, now wearing his combat-pants, boots, sweat-stained t-shirt and weathered harness, asked as he stepped up to the viewport alongside Shepard. For the younger man's part, he was still wearing his bodysuit and armor, though his helmet was nowhere to be found.

The Spectre had caught Raynor's thoughts minutes before the man had arrived, but he had the good grace to not look like he was expecting him. Instead, he stood to attention, snapped off a salute, then went back to watching the departing Flotilla before Raynor could even tell him 'at ease'. It was something that had developed between the two over the last couple of years; Raynor had taken the Spectre under his wing as an unofficial protégé, teaching him tactics and some fighting-moves that he'd learned or come up with himself. The teacher-student relationship was very informal, though Shepard had never gotten out of the habit of calling him 'sir'.

"It sure is, sir," Shepard said.

Raynor watched the Flotilla with Shepard until the Quarians vanished in a short FTL-jump. He then turned to look at Shepard and frowned at what he saw.

"When was the last time you slept, kid?" he asked. The fact that Shepard actually had to think about it told Raynor a lot.

"Four days, seven hours, sir," Shepard eventually said.

"Why the hell have you been up so long?"

Shepard's smile faded into a grim line. "The Council's upped their patrols again, and I've been part of nine ops to keep STG personnel out of Quarian space. The Council is up to something, sir, I know it."

Raynor nodded. "If they weren't before the peace meeting, they were after they watched it."

Shepard blinked. "They saw it?"

Raynor grinned tiredly. "Valerian and Artanis thought that it would be some good press for us—bein' peacemakers and all that."

"No wonder the Council flipped their shit," Shepard shook his head, "They got a front-row seat to seeing the people they've spat on for three hundred damn years make nice with the thing they're scared of most… besides the Alliance, anyway."

"And to top it all off," Raynor added with a humorless smile, "Those two groups are now on our side."

"I'm surprised they haven't attacked us yet," Shepard mused.

"They probably will," Raynor said, "They've been top-dog for a long time, so if they see something dangerous, they're gonna try to make it work for 'em, or try to make 'em think they're better. But since the Alliance ain't gonna do either…"

"They're gonna poke the bear," Shepard finished, then quickly added, "I wasn't reading your mind, sir, honest."

"Good," Raynor said, then pulled out a cigarette; he offered it to Shepard, but the Spectre shook his head, so Raynor put it in his own mouth and lit it. "You know, your mom was askin' about you yesterday."

Shepard nodded, a little stiffly. "She called me last night."

"How're things?"

"It's… difficult," Shepard admitted, "She's my mother, but she killed my father; how am I supposed to react?"

"That's up to you," Raynor said, "And the fact that you're worrying about it like this tells me that you _really _need a vacation."

"I'm a Spectre, sir, we don't take…" Shepard's protests died in his throat when he saw the look on Raynor's face. "This isn't really a vacation, is it?"

"I got a mission for ya, kid," Raynor said casually, but there was an intense focus in his eyes that made Shepard want to salute again.

Instead, he crossed his arms and leaned against the viewport. "What's the op, sir?"

Raynor took a long drag on his cigarette. "There's gonna be a lot of new colonies out here soon—they're callin' 'em the Outskirt Colonies, what with them bein' outside the Koprulu Sector—and some people are thinkin' that the Council might take a shot at some of those colonies. Not just Terran ones, either; Protoss and Zerg, too. I talked to Tosh, and he's deployin' the Spectres to the Terran colonies to keep an eye on things, at least until the Dominion sets up enough defenses and the colonists get the militias up and running."

"And you want me to go to one of those colonies, sir?" Shepard asked.

"Yep," Raynor took another drag on the cigarette, then ground it out and tossed it over his shoulder, "I saw some plans for one system; it's right on the edge of Quarian space, it's an easy mark for some Council idiot or Batarian pirate who thinks it won't kick off a war.

"The system has two habitable planets," Raynor continued, handing Shepard a datapad, "The Terran colony will be on the one closer to the sun… the Zerg are settin' up a Hive Cluster on the second."

Shepard was suddenly glad he didn't smoke; if he'd taken the offered cigarette, he'd likely have choked on the smoke at that news.

"Zerg, sir? When did we start doing joint colonies? Besides the Crossroads, I mean."

"Two reasons," Raynor said, "First, it'll look like the Alliance is more, well, allied if we've got systems with more'n one race. We're not sharing planets yet, that'll probably never happen; still, it's also a chance to see if we _can _get along."

When Shepard thought of it like that, he could see the long-term value of mixed colonized systems. On a political standpoint with the Council, it made sense to look united, even if Terrans, Zerg and Protoss kept a wary eye and a loaded weapon ready whenever they dealt with each other. From a strategic standpoint, the importance of mixed colonies meant that each faction could cover the other; it worked against Amon's forces, after all.

Shepard could see it in his mind: hordes of Zerglings being covered by Siege Tanks as they advanced on disciplined lines of Turians, Medivacs healing Zealots as they fought Asari Commandos, Nydus Worms emerging from the ground to deposit Ultralisks inside Batarian lines, buying time for the Protoss to warp in Stalkers and Immortals… if the Alliance could learn to trust each other enough to mix its forces like that, there was little chance that the Council could ever compete with them.

Raynor grinned at Shepard's slightly unfocused face; he didn't need to be psychic to know what the kid was thinking. He'd entertained similar thoughts when Valerian, Artanis and Kerrigan had told him of their long-term plans. If the Alliance actually pulled it off… well, Raynor might actually take up Dr. Hanson's offer to stay on Haven, though whether or not it would be with _her _would be a matter for another day.

"So," Shepard said, looking at the datapad and getting back to the topic at hand, "What's the name of this colony I'm headed to?"

Raynor rolled his eyes. "Someone in the Dominion really likes ancient Earth mythology; they're callin' it Elysium."

Shepard's eyes quickly read through the plans for the colony, his mind already formulating strategies to repel attackers who might try to take advantage of an unfinished colony.

"When do I start, sir?"

Raynor grinned. "A week. Spend the next few days resting, because the next few weeks might be _real _interesting."

_Codex Entry: Alliance Colonization_

_All three founding factions of the Koprulu Alliance (Terrans, Zerg and Protoss) are extremely adept at constructing new settlements. _

_Terran technology allows their more critical structures to fly, while those that can't can be quickly disassembled to salvage the resources and rebuild elsewhere. Even these salvageable buildings are extremely sturdy, and even newer Terran settlements have defensive structures, both manned and unmanned. It should be noted that nearly every Terran building is made with function in mind, not comfort; this has earned grudging approval from Turians, but dismissal from Asari._

_Zerg biology and rapid gestation allows for their organic structures to be grown far faster than any mechanical construction. The most basic Hive Cluster can be raised in only a few hours, though certain Zerg organisms have been observed speeding up the process by several magnitudes. While most Zerg structures cannot move like the Terrans', they can repair injuries at a rate not dissimilar to Krogan regeneration, and this can be accelerated further by the same creatures that speed up their original construction. In addition, Zerg Hive Clusters exude a purple viscous material known as Creep, which sustains Zerg structures and younger organisms. It is noted that no Zerg structure, save for the original Hatchery, has been seen growing in an area that does not already have Creep on it._

_The Protoss' technology is not largely understood. However, it seems that each structure they possess is already constructed elsewhere. They use AI workers to mark areas; once these areas are marked, the Protoss 'warp in' the necessary structure from somewhere else, presumably their homeworld. Like the Zerg, who can only spawn structures on Creep, the Protoss seem to be limited to warping in structures near a power-source, typically a large, floating crystal called a Pylon. The only structures that do not seem to need an outside power supply are the settlement's main structure, the Nexus, and the Pylons themselves. As this warp technology allows entire bases to be established within hours, it is a disturbing indication of what resources are at the Protoss' disposal._

_Codex Entry: Quarians and Geth in the Koprulu Alliance_

_With the centuries-old feud now resolved between the Quarians and the Geth, the former have now returned to their homeworld of Rannoch, while the latter seem to have taken the role of a buffer-state, settling in bases on the worlds of neighboring systems, as well as orbiting space stations._

_Though the Quarians have come home, there is still tension between them and their creations. In an effort to prevent hostilities, the Dominion has taken the Quarians as a member-species, while the Protoss seem to have done the same with the Geth. Behavioral analysts have speculated that this is an attempt to 'adopt' these races into accepting their respective sponsor's attitudes, such as the Quarians becoming less-inclined to hold onto old grudges, or at least not act on them, as most Terrans seem to behave._

_Despite their change in status, young Quarians still undergo their Pilgrimage, often going into Council space, though Alliance officials have warned them to be careful. While most still see these Quarians as thieves and vagrants, there is a growing movement in Turian society that supports equal rights for Quarians. This is possibly an act of apology for the Hierarchy's failure to return the Quarians to their home, though the government itself has made no comment._

**There you go, folks! I realize that this chapter is far shorter than my usual posts, but considering how huge the last one was, I think I'm allowed to keep this one on the short side. Besides, this was more of a setup for the next chapter, and indeed, for several major events on this story's horizon.**

**You might be wondering why I didn't have a lot of stuff happen between the Quarians and the Geth. My answer: the words were unimportant. It would have been useless padding. The Alliance was there to keep things moving; the only danger would have come from the Quarians, as the Geth are logical, while some of their creators *cough*GerrelandXen*cough* might do something… stupid. Short version: stuff happened, a few days later, a compromise was made. Now, the Quarians are official allies to the Dominion, while the Geth are going to make friends with the AI of the Protoss. **

**Like Shepard said, the Council wasn't happy with these developments. And what do people in power do when they get scared? Why, they listen to someone who sounds like he knows what he's doing, of course! Enter Saren, who always kind of reminded me of a Turian Lex Luthor or something. Now, being a Council SPECTRE, Saren has access to resources (a stick) that he will use to test the Alliance (poke the bear). Anyone with two brain cells to rub together (or knowledge of StarCraft), will know that this is a Bad Idea. That was the real point of this chapter, to begin the first inklings of conflict between the Council, and the Alliance; the issues with the Quarians and Geth were just the trigger.**

**Now, before I sign off, I want to make a request: I would love to see some fan art for this story, perhaps to use as the cover image. Something cool, like Marines fighting Husks, or Kerrigan using her lightning-hands on an Asari (Matriarch Benezia, maybe?). Something like that would be awesome, and would earn my eternal love, as well as shout-outs and links.**

**Next time: Saren makes his move, and a young Spectre begins his first steps on the journey from being a soldier… to a legend.**

**You must construct additional Muffins!**


	6. The Battle of Elysium

**STARCRAFT DOES NOT BELONG TO ME. MASS EFFECT DOES NOT BELONG TO ME. THE ABILITY TO MAKE PEOPLE FROM BOTH UNIVERSES FIGHT IT OUT IS FUN, EVEN THOUGH I DON'T GET PAID.**

**Rather than have a large pre-chapter A/N, I thought I'd start with a very short piece of advice.**

**Never try to hide covert ops from mind-readers.**

Cycles Upon Cycles

Chapter 5

The Battle of Elysium

_Welcome back. This is Kate Lockwell, for UNN. Colonization efforts have officially begun throughout Quarian space, and though the exact numbers of Protoss and Zerg worlds are unknown, our sources in the Dominion have stated that at least thirty new Terran colonies will be established within the next year._

_We've interviewed colonists bound for over a dozen new planets, and most seem very excited. The exception, however, are the colonists headed to systems that border Council space. Alliance military forces have been sent ahead of them to make sure that colonization is both smooth and safe. However, tensions are still high; aside from the first meeting with the Batarians, we don't really have a good grasp of what Council forces are capable of. The hope, of course, is that we never have to find out, but with the increase of Council ships on the border, the Alliance has to prepare for the worst. We'll keep you updated with any further developments; for UNN, I'm Kate Lockwell._

**Elysium-1, 2508**

As the transport's doors opened up, Shepard stepped out and took a deep breath, filling his lungs with the crisp, unspoiled air of the new colony. After allowing himself a moment to enjoy the feeling, he was back to focusing on his mission. He hefted his suitcase—large enough to carry his armor and weapons—over his shoulder and trudged down the ship's ramp. Clad in nondescript combat-pants, boots, and a brown jacket over a black shirt, he played the part of a colonist looking for a new start perfectly.

With only a few weeks left in the year, the Alliance had poured a lot of effort into setting up new colonies on unspoiled worlds. Many systems were rich in resources, as well as large amounts of untapped Vespene gas, something that the Council races had dismissed as a toxic substance to be avoided. Apparently, it caused an allergic reaction in Turians and Asari; the Dominion had briefly considered using it as a bioweapon, but it was discarded, as Vespene was valuable enough as a fuel.

The Terran colony on Elysium-1 was still under construction, but as Shepard cast a critical eye around, he nodded approvingly at the manned bunkers, all equipped with Shrike turrets on top; the slightly-discolored patches of earth between and around each bunker suggested Perdition flamethrower-turrets had been planted as well. Teams of SCVs were busy constructing Missile Turrets and high walls to force would-be attackers into range of the bunkers.

Inside the colony's perimeter, more military structures were on the way towards completion, while in the very center, civilian structures were only partially completed, and actual civilian presence was minimal. Years ago, civilians would have complained that the military was getting special treatment, but now, it was actually reassuring for people to come live on a planet that already had a strong military presence. Once the colony was deemed secure, colonists would move in, and would train their own militia to supplement the Dominion garrison.

_Speaking of the Dominion, _Shepard thought to himself, _I gotta meet whoever's in charge._

It wasn't hard to locate the Dominion Command Center; like in standard bases, it was near the back of the colony. Shepard nodded at the two Marines who stood guard, showed them his authorization, and they allowed him inside. Once there, Shepard found a middle-aged man, his face lined from stress, wearing a suit of red CMC armor and watching a holographic display that showed the progress of the colony's construction.

"Adjutant," he called out, either not seeing or ignoring Shepard for the moment, "We need an extra team of SCVs to speed up construction of the Supply Depots. When the colonists show up, I don't want 'em going hungry after the first week."

"_Affirmative, Captain," _the Adjutant implanted in the wall said, _"Deploying SCV team four to Depot construction duties. ETA until total Supply Depot construction: six hours."_

"Good," the Captain said, then looked up from the display to lock eyes with Shepard. "So, who the hell are you?"

Despite the words, Shepard could tell that the man was curious, not belligerent; he put down his suitcase and held out his hand.

"Lieutenant Aaron Shepard, Raynor's Raiders."

The Captain took the offered hand and grinned. "Captain Armando Bailey, commanding officer of the Elysium-1 garrison. What brings a Raider here?"

Shepard's hand fell to his side as his face grew grim. "Alliance command is worried that the colonies bordering Council space are going to get attacked… soon."

To his credit, Bailey's eyes only widened slightly. "How soon?"

Shepard shrugged. "I don't know. It could be tomorrow, it could be next week. We know that the Council is strengthening its patrols, but nothing to indicate an attack. If something is coming, it's not going to be as obvious."

"Great," Bailey groaned, "What do we need to do?"

Shepard pulled a datapad out of his jacket. "Until something happens, colonization of the border-systems is being put on hold."

Rather than simply tell Bailey what to do, and risk undermining his authority, Shepard only told him what was happening, and let the man make a choice.

Bailey frowned thoughtfully. "If we halt construction of civilian residences and focus on just defenses, we could have another five or six bunkers set up in a couple of days. Still, we've got a shortage of manpower."

"What are your standing forces, Captain?" Shepard asked.

"Lemme think for a second… fifty Marines, along with ten Medics," Bailey answered, "We've also got a squad of Firebats and Marauders, plus two Siege Tanks. Dominion Command said they had another hundred soldiers and a dozen heavy vehicles on the way, but they won't be here for three days."

Shepard scowled. "You know Terran luck, Captain; we'll probably get attacked before those reinforcements can get here. Can we expect backup from the Zerg on Elysium-2?"

Bailey scowled right back. "Doubt it. The Leviathan that started the Hive Cluster left yesterday; even if the Zerg over there got enough Overlords to transport a sizeable army, it would take them a full day to get from there to here. Plus, we don't really have a way to contact them yet; we're still calibrating the comms."

"Hmm… maybe I can do something about that," Shepard tapped his chin in thought, "I can't promise anything, but if worse comes to worse, I can try."

Bailey nodded. "Fine, I'll take whatever I can get. If there's anything else…?"

"No, that's it," Shepard smiled dryly, "If there are any other surprises for you, I don't know them."

"Thanks, I guess," Bailey said, "Anyway, there's some spare room in Barracks 4, so you can get your gear squared away there."

"Great," Shepard said, picking up his suitcase again, "I'll get set up. Do you have equipment necessary to maintain spec-ops gear?"

The equipment used by Spectres and Ghosts, while sophisticated, was actually easy to repair and maintain by those who used it. It only required some different thinking when using Terran equipment that was only slightly above-average.

Bailey looked surprised. "You're spec-ops? I figured you were a messenger or something. You look young to be a soldier."

Shepard grinned. "I'm twenty-one, Captain… and I've been a Spectre for six years."

He was about to leave, but a thought occurred to him. "Bailey, do you know what the Zerg defenses on Elysium-2 are like?"

Bailey actually laughed. "What, you think someone is stupid enough to attack the _Zerg_? Even if they took out that Hive Cluster, the Swarm would wipe out whoever did it, down to the last man."

Shepard shrugged. "That's what I'm afraid of."

…

**Unregistered transport, just outside the Elysium system**

"All units, report status," Saren said calmly.

"_Phantom Battalion, ready," _a gruff Batarian named Barik said over the comms, _"All other forces are ready as well."_

Barik was a notorious pirate that normally operated in the Terminus Systems, but though he claimed to be independent of any government, Saren had proof that he was backed by the Hegemony. That proof had allowed Saren to blackmail Barik into working with him for this operation.

The possibility of hundreds of thousands of credits also helped.

Still, Barik's 'battalion' was little more than a hundred Batarians, not nearly enough to get the job done, if estimates of Terran firepower were correct. That was why Saren had paid for several small units of mercenaries to band together, mostly other Batarians; he would have preferred some Turians, Asari and Salarians, but this needed to look like the acts of pirates. Other than Barik's force, the largest of these groups came in the form of over a hundred Blood Pack members; twenty of them were Krogan, while the rest were Vorcha, only there to soak up bullets for the rest of the mercs.

As Barik had the largest force, and the Vorcha of the Blood Pack didn't count, he was in charge of the attack on Elysium-1. His orders were so simple that not even he could screw it up: his forces would tie up the Terrans long enough for the Zerg on Elysium-2 to send most of their forces to reinforce the besieged Terrans. Before the Zerg would arrive, however, the mercenaries would deliver the deathblow, steal as much Terran equipment as possible, and leave before the Zerg arrived.

While the Zerg were in transit, Saren's team would infiltrate the Hive Cluster and take samples. Hopefully, the Salarians would find a weakness in Zerg biology; perhaps they would use something like the genophage to wipe the creatures out altogether.

Before signaling his own readiness, Saren cast a critical eye over his two teammates; after reviewing their files, he was sure that they were the best their species' had to offer.

Jondam Bau was a Salarian with a gift for investigation; he had an eye for detail that, when added to his natural intelligence and technical aptitude, would make spotting the most valuable sample easier.

Then there was Tela Vasir, an Asari that, while relatively new to the SPECTREs, had already proven herself by breaking up several slaver operations singlehanded. Her psyche-evaluation noted that she had an extremely acute survival-instinct; between that and her substantial biotics, she was the team's lookout and rapid-response member.

And then there was Saren. While he wasn't a biotic, nor was he a tech expert, he was easily the best fighter and tactician of the three. He also had more experience as a SPECTRE than either of his peers.

"Shadow Team is ready," Saren announced, after getting nods from Bau and Vasir, "Commence the operation."

Saren tapped a few commands into his omni-tool; a moment later, the VI-piloted shuttle began its approach to Elysium-2.

"I wonder how the mercs will do," Vasir commented, though she didn't look up from her shotgun as she finished reassembling it.

"Do you care about them?" Saren asked dryly.

"Hell no," Vasir scoffed, "But if we have to run more shadow-ops against the Alliance, I'd like to see how the average mercenary will do. If they're good enough, we won't have to shell out for the expensive outfits, like Eclipse."

Bau snorted in amusement, but Saren said nothing. It would take a full day for the shuttle to reach Elysium-2; when it did, all power save for life-support and the receiving end of the comms was cut. When the mercenaries began their attack, they would send a signal, and the SPECTREs would move in.

For now, they just had to wait.

…

**Elysium-1**

Shepard had been in the colony for just over twenty-four hours; he'd spent that time getting to know not just the layout of the base and the surrounding countryside—lots of trees, hills and valleys; perfect for ambushing small groups of enemies—but also the soldiers stationed there. At first, most of them were wary of him, either because he was a psychic, a spook, or because he was a Raider. However, Shepard was able to get through to them, usually by playing cards in the barracks, or just telling funny stories; while some Ghosts and Spectres preferred to be intimidating and aloof, Shepard preferred not to alienate the soldiers who might one day watch his back. His attempts were largely successful, so when he woke up after the first night, he received plenty of waves and friendly greetings.

He had just finished his breakfast—undercooked bacon and some sort of gray paste that he swore had moved on its own once or twice—when he'd gotten a strange tingling on the back of his neck. He'd learned to pay attention whenever he got that tingle; every time he felt it, something bad had happened, usually to him. He'd had his brain scanned to see if he had some sort of psionic precognitive abilities, but nothing came of it; he eventually chalked it up to a combination of paranoia and a heightened sense of self-preservation.

Still, when he felt that tingle, he dropped everything and headed to the barracks; after years of practice, he could get his bodysuit and armor on, then get his weapons ready in a matter of minutes. The off-duty Marines were still halfway through getting into their exoskeletons when Shepard walked quickly out of the barracks, his rifle mag-locked to his back, his pistol holstered on his thigh, while his wide-bladed dagger was sheathed at his hip.

He could pick up a growing sense of unease from the Terrans around him the closer he got to the Command Center. When he entered, he found Bailey scowling darkly.

"You were right, kid," the Captain said, "We've got company, and not the friendly kind. The profile of the ships they landed in suggest Batarians. They deployed something that's jamming long-range comms; we can't get a transmission off-world."

"Dammit," Shepard hissed, his helmet's speakers giving his voice a metallic tinge to it, "I was hoping we'd have more time to prepare. What's our status?"

Bailey brought up a hologram of the base. "We've set up bunkers at every entrance, they're loaded with Marines and the Marauders, and they're surrounded by Perdition turrets. Still, I've got twenty Marines and ten Medics with nothing to do, not to mention the Firebats."

"If I could offer a suggestion?" Shepard waited for Bailey to nod before continuing. "We use our remaining troops as a quick-reaction force; if one position looks like it's going to be overrun, this group can buy time for SCVs to make emergency repairs, or maybe counterattack."

"Will you be leading this force?" Bailey asked.

Shepard thought about it for a moment, but ultimately shook his head. "I just got here, Captain; you know these men better than I do. Besides, I'm more useful outside the base; I'll pick off unit leaders, slow down squads… who knows, maybe I'll find and stop whatever's jamming us."

Bailey smiled in a coldly amused way. "You're gonna make 'em sweat, aren't you?"

Shepard returned the smile. "I'll make 'em piss their pants, or whatever their equivalent is."

"Give us an estimate of their forces before you go to work, would ya?" Bailey asked.

Shepard nodded; a moment later, there was a flash of red hexagons, and then he was gone.

Bailey sighed. "Damn spooks."

{I heard that,} Shepard said into his mind.

"Dammit!"

…

Shepard had been given the general coordinates of where the attackers had landed; unfortunately, it was only a few hours away from the colony, traveling on foot. When he got closer, he sensed the presence of alien minds.

Each species had its own psionic 'feel' to it; Terrans felt like a mass of chains, strong, yet not totally secure. Protoss felt like lightning, powerful and focused. The Zerg were hunger and rage, but with a cold intelligence underneath. The Quarians felt like a tree, reaching up to the future, yet holding onto the past below. Batarians felt sticky and prickly at the same time, stubbornly refusing to change and attacking anyone who tried to make them.

During his occasional foray to counter Council spies, Shepard had also felt the minds of Salarians and Asari. The former felt like a supercharged engine, thoughts going by so fast that it took intense concentration to hear all of it. The latter were actually difficult to read, as long as they weren't from the Citadel; apparently, the Asari actually had a subtle resistance to psychic intrusions, but that was stripped away by the psionic field around the Citadel.

Also, Asari made Shepard's mind itch, a feeling that was shared by most Human psychics; no one was completely sure why, as the Alliance didn't know enough about the Asari yet.

Still, Shepard could feel the now-familiar minds of Batarians; there were also some unfamiliar presences, but the majority of them were definitely Batarians. Still invisible, Shepard climbed a hill and got his first look at what the colony would be facing.

He was almost disappointed. All told, there couldn't have been more than three hundred infantry, along with a handful of bulky gunships, their designs recognizable as Batarian. Most of the Batarians were armed with assault rifles, while a few were armed with sniper rifles, shotguns and the occasional rocket launcher. Shepard decided that he would kill those specialists first.

Then there were two aliens that he had read about in the Codex—something that many Terrans were getting copies of—but had never seen in person. There were twenty Krogan, wearing heavy armor and armed with shotguns and assault rifles. One of them had a purple aura around him; a Battlemaster, Shepard noted, an experienced warrior with biotic abilities.

The Krogan minds felt, to Shepard, like a semi-active volcano; dangerous enough as they were, but with a risk of exploding with cataclysmic fury.

If it weren't for his training, Shepard might have let himself get distracted by the imposing Krogan. Thankfully, he dragged his attention to the dozens of skinny, spike-headed creatures that scurried around, either cackling madly or dodging kicks from the Krogan. Vorcha, he recalled, often used by other mercenaries as cannon fodder; they were surprisingly resilient, with regenerative abilities almost as good as a Krogan. However, they weren't intelligent, and because of their expendable nature, they were given terrible weapons and equipment.

Shepard quickly activated his comms and informed Bailey of the enemy numbers and estimated capabilities. Bailey had been annoyed when he was told that his forces were outnumbered more than three to one, but considering that Terrans were used to being outnumbered a _hundred _to one, as had happened often in battles with the Zerg, things could have been much worse.

Even though he was invisible, there was no way he was going to take on that entire force by himself; if he started killing the mercenaries—and a quick scan of their surface thoughts confirmed that they were indeed mercenaries—they would just start shooting in every direction, eventually hitting him. There was also the issue of him not having enough bullets, and he'd probably kill himself if he tried to wipe them all out with his powers. No, it was best to wait until the mercs split into smaller groups to navigate through the dense terrain, and then pick off important targets.

Shepard continued to observe the mercs as they got into formation—sloppily, he noted; they thought that they were going to have an easy fight, but they were in for quite the surprise—but also searched for whatever was jamming the comms. The search was in vain, however; the jamming device was probably on the ship that had brought them here, but it had taken off before Shepard had arrived.

Scowling at his bad luck, Shepard headed east, out of the path of the mercenaries; it was time to see if there was another way of calling for help. He ducked into a ditch, got into a more comfortable position and closed his eyes. He reached out with his mind, searching for the angry buzzing that had been on the periphery of his awareness ever since he arrived here.

It was theoretically possible for a Terran psychic to interact with the Zerg hive mind. Usually, the best one could hope for was to temporarily control a lesser Zerg creature, like a Drone or Zergling. Actually _communicating _with the Swarm was only a theory; unless a Ghost was as powerful as Kerrigan before she was infested—and those were one in a million—the Swarm would overwhelm the psychic's mind in moments.

Shepard _wasn't _a Ghost, however; he was a Spectre, and on top of that, his powers had been growing over the last couple of years. He was reasonably sure that he could match Tosh in a psi-on-psi battle now, though he'd never actually try it. He'd tried to figure out why his powers were growing so fast, but hadn't been able to find an answer; at the moment, he was just grateful that he _was _so powerful.

It might be the only thing to save his life.

When his mind brushed the collective might of the Swarm, he smiled.

_Knock, knock, anybody home?_

…

**Char**

When Kerrigan felt the psionic intrusion into the Swarm, her first instinct was to crush it, swiftly and without mercy; however, there was something about the presence… it was not aggressive or malicious, but scared and desperate.

Kerrigan sat up in her organic throne, deep within the bowels of her primary Hive and located the intruder; the mind was Terran, but even more surprising, she thought she recognized the individual.

{Who are you?} she demanded telepathically.

{Shepard,} the Terran said, and his voice sounded like he was shouting from far away, {Elysium system… under attack… Dominion too far away… need help.}

The name made Kerrigan remember; there had been a young Spectre with Jim in the fight against Amon. The boy had barely survived Amon's death-throes, and now the colony he was on was under attack. And the Elysium system… she had a small Hive Cluster there. Reaching out to that particular Hive, she sped up the breeding process of combat Zerg—as it was a new Hive Cluster, she only had access to Zerglings and Roaches—as well as dozens of Overlords to transport them to the Terran colony.

{Shepard,} she said, straining to maintain the already-failing connection with the Terran, {I'll have reinforcements at your colony soon. Just hold on.}

{Thanks,} Shepard replied, relief ringing loud and clear, {I'll try… to slow them down… crap, something's coming… I should go.}

With those words, Shepard withdrew from the connection. Kerrigan allowed herself a small smile at the Spectre's daring; once this fight was over, she'd have to tell Jim that he was doing well with that one.

Speaking of the fight, Kerrigan focused more on the Elysium Hive Cluster; she diverted more Drones to morph into more advanced structures, and began morphing the Hatchery into a Lair. Since that Hive Cluster was on the border of Council space, it would be the launching point of a counter-invasion, should it come to that. She also began rousing the rest of the Swarm; if war was on the horizon, she didn't want to waste time getting ready.

"Izsha," she called out, using her real voice; a moment later, the serpentine Zerg slithered out of a capillary within the Hive.

"You require my presence, my Queen?"

"Send word to the Dominion and the Protoss," Kerrigan ordered, "One of the border-systems is under attack; it could be the beginnings of an invasion by the Council. Tell the rest of the Alliance that the Swarm is mobilizing."

Izsha nodded. "Of course, my Queen; the Council has no chance against the Swarm."

Kerrigan smiled, all teeth but no humor. "No… no, they don't."

…

**Elysium-1**

Shepard snapped out of the psychic link when his helmet's sensors detected movement nearby. In order to make contact with the Swarm and not die—and though he hadn't, he had a splitting headache—he had diverted all of his power into maintaining the connection and protecting himself, which included the energy necessary to maintain his cloak. He was visible, and therefore vulnerable.

Dry dirt crunched under a boot; Shepard had less than a second to make a decision to either run or kill the scout. It probably _was _a scout, sent to watch the mercenaries' flanks, and all alone, if the single set of footsteps was anything to go by.

Shepard made his decision. _Oh well, I haven't killed anything in a while._

With his AGR-14 now cradled in his hands, Shepard took three steps forward, then one step left, bringing him around the ditch and less than three meters away from the Batarian scout. The alien's four eyes widened in surprise—if Shepard hadn't been about to shoot him, the Spectre would have scoffed; compared to him, the Batarian was as loud as a charging Ultralisk, and the idiot wasn't even wearing a helmet—and started to aim his pistol.

_Too slow, _Shepard thought, his own weapon already aimed as he pulled the trigger. The muffled cough of the suppressed rifle was the only sign that he'd fired; the armor-piercing bullet shattered the Batarian's kinetic barriers, and still had enough force to drill a hole in the center of his head. He was dead before he hit the ground.

"One down," Shepard muttered, even if his helmet prevented the words from being heard if he didn't want them to be. A slow smile appeared on his face.

"Time to go hunting."

…

Barik was swearing up a storm. His forces were less than an hour away from the colony, from a bunch of scared civilians, but several of the squads on his flanks were reporting attacks from an invisible enemy. Squad leaders and specialists were dying, either from precise, high-powered headshots, or exploding from some invisible force.

There had been rumors about the Alliance, Barik remembered, starting as early as First Contact. Rumors that some of the Terrans could do things with their minds that not even an experienced Asari could pull off, and that the Terrans were actually the _weakest _of the Alliance races with those abilities.

Barik had dismissed those stories, however; the Terrans could bleed and die, just like anyone else, and these colonists would be the Hegemony's slaves, just like _every_one else. He could almost see the credits being transferred to him when he delivered the slaves and technology to the Hegemony, and then, just to make some extra cash, he'd sell more of the tech to the Council. He'd be a rich man by the end of this mission, he just knew it.

Of course, he still had to do something about the infiltrator killing his men. Snarling, he reached for his comms.

"Yent," he snapped, "take some of your men and hunt down that spook that's hitting our flank."

A deep voice on the other end of the line growled. _"Your damn idiots aren't worth being called soldiers. Fine, I'll kill your pest, but there had better be a damn good fight when I get back!"_

Weyrloc Yent was the leader of the Blood Pack group that Saren had hired for this job. A Battlemaster with over two centuries of experience, Yent was tough, aggressive, and smart enough to exploit a weakness when he saw one. He also had a thing for killing Turians, and the Terrans were rumored to have just as much firepower as the avian aliens. Unfortunately, he was also disrespectful to anyone whom he thought was inferior—which was everyone—and preferred a fight against enemies who could give him a challenge.

Barik just liked his prey to put up enough of a fight to amuse him… before he broke them.

He rolled his eyes. "Whatever. Just kill the bastard fast, and there _might _be something left at the colony for you."

Yent growled again, then cut the link. Barik was just glad that the hulking Krogan hadn't been nearby, or he wouldn't have been so flippant; Yent would have ripped his arms off, and that was only if he was feeling merciful.

Still, Barik was sure that Yent would kill the infiltrator, who was probably trying to slow the mercenaries' progress so that the colonists could set up some sort of defense. Barik didn't really care about casualties, especially among the freelancers and Blood Pack, but the more people he lost, the more work the rest of them—and more importantly, him—would have to do. With that in mind, he ordered his forces to pick up the pace.

Soon, the colony was in sight, but the moment Barik laid eyes on it, he felt that something was off. Instead of barricades made of whatever was laying around, there were thick walls. He could only see a few entrances, and each one was guarded by two squat buildings with a large double-barreled turret on top. And then there was the sound; where he should have heard terrified whimpers, there was only mechanical whirring.

Still, there were only two buildings per entrance; if Barik's forces could break past those, they would have a clear shot at the guts of the colony.

Barik pointed at the closest entrance. "All forces, attack that point!"

…

"_Captain, the enemy force is charging," _the Adjutant reported.

Bailey smiled as he watched the holographic images of Batarians, Krogan and Vorcha moving towards the western entrance to the base.

"Siege Tanks," he said, and the Adjutant immediately patched him through to the two tank pilots. "Havoc, redeploy to the western side."

"_Roger that, Captain," _the eastern tank pilot said, responding to his call-sign; Bailey watched as the Siege Tank's treads went from an X-shape to two parallel treads, the stabilizing 'legs' on the sides retracted into the chassis, and the turret shortened in width and length. The tank rumbled across the base to join its brother, whose pilot went by the call-sign of Chaos. Havoc's tank went back into siege-mode next to Chaos just as the mercenaries got into range.

Bailey's smile turned into a predatory grin. "Fire."

…

The first clue that Barik had that his attack was doomed was when two shells screamed over the walls of the base and slammed into the mob of Vorcha that had been sent in first. There were two explosions, each killing a dozen of the stupid aliens. A few seconds later, there were two more shots, and another thirty Vorcha died.

_What the hell!? _Barik screamed inside his head, _they have fucking artillery? Who are these people!?_

By then, the rest of the mercenaries had moved into range of the bunkers. Unfortunately, each was manned by four Marines and a Marauder; between the gauss rifles, Punisher grenade launchers and the bunker's Shrike turret, each bunker killed a dozen more mercenaries in less than a minute. The only ones who had a chance of surviving the bullets and explosives were the remaining Vorcha and the Krogan; the former had to be killed in the first few hits, or they would recover, and the latter could endure it thanks to their barriers, heavy armor and natural toughness.

However, just as they got in range to use their shotguns or throw grenades into the bunkers' firing slits, half a dozen strange devices popped out of the ground. Barik thought they were some kind of mines at first, designed to explode at head-height, but then he saw the pilot lights on the sides of each device.

"Get out of there!" he screamed into the comms, but it was too late.

The Perdition turrets roared like a primal beast as they unleashed their fury. The one weakness to regenerating species, like Krogan and Vorcha, was that high heat could slow or even stop their regeneration for several minutes. Between the blazing infernos and the bunkers, the rest of the Vorcha were massacred, and only four of the Krogan were able to limp away, one of which was shot in the back by a well-aimed burst from a gauss rifle, finishing him off.

Barik had been so distracted by the horrible destruction that he almost missed that his Batarians had managed to do a little damage to one of the bunkers; there was a trail of smoke trickling from one side, and the turret on top had stopped firing, only sparking sporadically. The troops within were still shooting, but the sheer volume of fire had been reduced.

"Gunships One and Two, hit the left bunker," Barik ordered, "All troops, focus fire on the same target! Gunships Three and Four, take out that damn artillery!"

…

Bailey scowled when he saw the damage one of the bunkers had sustained, and again when he spotted the incoming aircraft.

"Adjutant, those Missile Turrets better be ready," he said as he grabbed his gauss rifle.

"_They are, Captain," _the Adjutant replied.

"Good. Tell the tanks that they've got authorization for danger-close fire," Bailey said, then stepped out of the Command Center, where the Marines, Firebats, Medics and Marauders who hadn't been deployed in bunkers were waiting.

"Come on, boys and girls," Bailey raised his rifle high, "Let's give these alien bastards a lesson in Terran hospitality!"

Bailey and his soldiers thundered towards the western entrance, their arrival heralded by the sound of explosions and alien screams. Bailey aimed his rifle at the nearest Batarian and fired two bursts; the first smashed through the merc's barrier and knocked him on his ass, and was then torn to pieces by the second burst.

"Kill 'em all!" he roared.

…

**Elysium-2**

As soon as the mercenaries deployed the comms-jammer, Barik had sent the signal to Saren's team. The three SPECTREs didn't move in immediately, though; they waited for several hours, using passive scans to see if landing on the planet wasn't a suicide mission.

Fortunately for them, it wasn't; just a few hours after the attack began, the shuttle's sensors picked up hundreds of organisms leaving the planet. There was little information on the Zerg, save for the name of the organisms and their basic functions, but the SPECTREs knew that even if each Overlord carried a few Zerg, there would be more than enough to bury the mercenaries in bodies.

"They've only been on the planet for two days," Vasir muttered, "How the hell do they have so many already?"

Bau shook his head in disbelief. "Not even the Rachni bred so quickly."

Saren tapped a few commands into his omni-tool, and the shuttle began its descent. "Then we'd better move faster, before they breed more."

As soon as the shuttle landed, just half a kilometer outside the Hive Cluster, the three SPECTREs hopped out. Bau was armed with a pistol, an assault rifle, his omni-tool and enough technical equipment to make any STG operative smile. Vasir had her biotics, as well as her shotgun, while Saren had an assault rifle, pistol, sniper rifle and enough grenades to turn a Krogan into bloody mist.

"Move out," he ordered, leading the way, his assault rifle panning for targets.

They didn't get far before Saren spotted movement. He held up one hand in a fist, getting the others to stop, then dropped to one knee; he collapsed his assault rifle and placed it on his back, then drew his sniper rifle. After a few seconds, he fired; his custom rifle barely made a sound, but there was a sharp screech that ended abruptly less than fifty meters away.

"Vasir, get over there and retrieve that corpse," Saren ordered, not taking his eye off his scope, "I'll cover you; looks like we just got our first sample."

Vasir and Bau nodded; while the latter set up some equipment for an on-the-spot dissection, the former glowed with biotic power. Vasir launched forward, her Charge bringing her just a few steps away from Saren's kill. A few seconds later, she returned, the dead Zergling slung over her shoulders.

"Goddess, this thing is heavy," she grunted, dropping it onto the ground, "and it stinks."

Saren had seen a few images of Zerglings, but this was the first time he'd seen one in person. It had powerful back legs and smaller forelimbs, probably meant for holding down prey. Its brown carapace looked thick and contrasted with the delicate-looking wings sprouting from its sides. Two long segmented limbs arched from its shoulder and curled forward; the front third ended in thick claws. The entire body had small spikes covering it, the largest of which were on its stubby tail. Its mouth was filled with fangs, while two short, thick tusks emerged from the sides of its head.

From a first glance, the thing was meant for one thing: killing, and as savagely as possible.

Still, Saren noted with some satisfaction, this one had gone down easily enough; a single round from his rifle had punched a hole clean through its left eye and out its right. With his own observation finished, Saren went back to keeping watch with Vasir, while Bau performed scans and took samples.

"Looks like we've got the more aggressive of the two types," Bau said, both for his teammates' benefit and because he was recording, "From the files, it seems that this 'Raptor strain' is more maneuverable and has more ways of killing than the 'Swarmling strain'. Scanning now… well, the carapace is thicker than it seems. Other than its eyes, it could probably take any type of injury and still keep fighting until it was killed. You got lucky, Saren."

If the Salarian was hoping to get a rise out of Saren, he was disappointed; the older SPECTRE said nothing.

"Guys, I'm getting a bad feeling," Vasir said, her posture calm, but her voice was tense, "Wrap it up; the sooner we get this done, the sooner we can leave."

"Agreed," Saren said, "Bau, take a tissue sample and let's go."

Bau nodded, taking less than a minute to carve off a piece of carapace and underlying muscle, then another few seconds for a small amount of blood, before putting everything away.

"Quickly, into the Hive Cluster," Saren ordered, "The central structure should have useful data."

The three operatives hurried along, but none missed the growing hissing noises. None of them said it out loud, but they were all thinking it: somehow, the Zerg were aware of the death of one of their own, and they were getting angry.

"I see the Hive Cluster," Saren said, replacing his sniper rifle with his assault rifle, "Be on the lookout, some of those tentacle things are at the perimeter."

STG drones had reported images of the two mobile Zerg structures; both moved around on six segmented legs and could quickly root themselves into the ground, as long as it was covered in Creep. One looked like a spiked tree-trunk, while its top ended in a concave mouth-like opening. The other was a nest of spiked carapace with a long tentacle that sprouted from the center; the tentacle ended in a spike the size of a Turian.

One of those spiked ones, referenced as 'Spine Crawlers' was sitting directly between the SPECTREs and the inside of the Hive Cluster.

"It's not doing anything," Vasir murmured.

"Let's not wait around to find out what it does," Saren said, "We go in quiet, grab a sample and get out."

The SPECTREs approached the Hive Cluster slowly, keeping a wary eye on the Spine Crawler, but it still did nothing. After a few seconds, they became the first Council species to set foot on Creep.

Vasir gagged. "Goddess, this stuff is disgusting; it feels like I'm walking on snot!"

"And Zerg structures both create and consume it," Bau muttered, "It's so efficient… fascinating."

When they were just ten meters away from the Spine Crawler, it wasn't just Vasir who had a bad feeling; Saren was getting anxious as well. That anxiety saved his life, because the Spine Crawler's tentacle whipped around and launched forward like a spring. Saren twisted, narrowly avoiding the hit.

Vasir, however, wasn't so lucky. The spike tore through her barrier and then her armor, the tip burying itself into her leg; if it hadn't been slowed by the barrier and armor, it would have severed the limb clean off. As it was, the leg only hung on by a gory thread. With an agonized scream, Vasir collapsed.

From the way the tentacle had stretched, it should have been able to attack them sooner, so why hadn't it? The answer hit Saren immediately: because it wanted all three of them in range, and if it wounded one, the rest would help their comrade, making themselves easy targets.

Unfortunately, Saren wasn't the type to help the wounded.

"Leave her!" he barked, already sprinting for the Lair up ahead, "The mission comes first!"

Bau bit his lip, but followed after Saren, ignoring Vasir's pitiful cries for help. The Spine Crawler attacked again, and the screams were mercifully cut short.

A pair of Zerglings tried to stop them, but concentrated fire from the remaining SPECTREs brought them down. They slid to a stop at the base of the Lair, a giant tent-like thing with sharp talons rising upwards; like every Zerg structure, it pulsed slightly, reminding anyone who saw it that it was alive.

"Cover me," Bau said, scanning with his omni-tool and cutting a chunk of flesh off at the same time.

Saren nodded and hurled a grenade at a small pack of Zerglings, killing a few and throwing the rest off-balance long enough for him to gun the rest down. A surprised huff from Bau made him turn; the Salarian was staring at a small Zerg, about as long as Saren's forearm and twice as thick, that had tumbled out of an orifice at the base of the Lair.

"A Larva," Bau said, "They turn into every Zerg creature, including the ones that turn into structures. I bet that they're the key to everything."

"Grab it, then," Saren barked, "A live specimen should do nicely."

Bau made to do just that, but a rumbling from just a few feet away made him pause. That rumbling was caused by a large, beetle-like Zerg with green spikes jutting from its carapace that burst from the ground. The Roach reared up, managing to support itself for a moment on two of its four squat legs; it opened its mouth and vomited a stream of acid onto Bau. The first mass of acid almost overloaded his shields, but the second broke them, then melted through his armor in moments; just before he could scream, the Corpser strain Roach used one of the two scything claws mounted on its shell, just over its front legs, to remove Bau's head from his body.

Saren didn't even hesitate; the mission came first. He tossed a grenade into the Roach's mouth, blowing its head and the front third of its body into pieces. With that done, he grabbed Bau's samples and was about to reach for the Larva when the Salarian's body twitched… and exploded. From within the remains, two small Roaches screeched; each was only about the third the size of the Roach that spawned it, but they were certainly dangerous. Saren drew his pistol and fired pinpoint shots into each Roachling's face.

Knowing he couldn't afford to be slowed down anymore, Saren snatched up the Larva and sprinted out of the Hive Cluster. The Larva weighed him down, but not by much; however, it did keep him from using one arm, which made using his assault rifle a problem. Still, he had his pistol and some grenades left, and he'd dealt with worse with less.

One of his grenades was used on the same Spine Crawler that had killed Vasir, distracting it long enough for him to sprint past; he didn't even look at the Asari's remains as he ran. Behind him, he could hear the angry chitter of Zerglings and the lower-pitched squeals of Roaches. Tucked under his arm, the Larva squirmed feebly; in the back of his mind, Saren noted that these creatures were extremely weak until they morphed into a different Zerg.

Saren was just a hundred meters away from his shuttle when something slammed into his back, sending the Larva flying through the air. Saren tried to see what had hit him, but then powerful jaws clamped onto his left arm. His barriers slowed the Zergling down, but they wouldn't last much longer; Saren's talons desperately reached for his pistol, closing around it just as his shields broke, and the Zergling's fangs cracked through his armor.

Biting back a cry of pain, Saren fired wildly into the Zergling, not doing enough damage until one lucky shot passed into the monster's brain. The Zergling slumped over, dead, but not before it had finished its objective.

Saren fought against the pain and shock, trying his best not to look at the stump of what used to be his left arm. He stood on shaky legs, then administered some painkillers and a clotting agent; hopefully, it would keep him alive long enough to get to friendly space. He picked up the Larva with his remaining hand and staggered onwards.

Unfortunately, there was more bad news: a pair of Zerglings were gnawing on Saren's shuttle, while a Roach was spewing acid at it. Thankfully, Saren's shuttle was customized to react to attacks and had activated its shields; Saren had spared no expense to make sure that his ship could withstand a heavy attack, and the shields were holding.

Normally, Saren would have activated his omni-tool and had his ship gun down the Zerg; however, with his left arm gone, along with his omni-tool, he was going to have to do this the hard way.

"Hey!" Saren yelled, hurling the Larva at one of the Zerglings. It didn't hurt the creature, but it did get their attention, and all three charged at him. Saren waited until the last moment, then dropped a grenade and dived to the side; the grenade exploded, killing the Zerglings and injuring the Roach.

While hurt, the Roach wasn't even close to dead, and it spewed more acid; his shields stopped most of the acid, letting it pool harmlessly on the ground, but his barriers had already been damaged by the grenade, so they shattered, and specks of acid hit Saren's face. Specifically, his eyes. One was a ruined mess within seconds, but the other was being destroyed more slowly. It at least gave him time to throw another grenade; again, it didn't kill the Roach, but it flipped it on its back.

Saren didn't have time to finish the Roach off; instead, he grabbed the Larva—for something so weak, it was remarkably durable—and boarded the shuttle. With the last of his strength, he set a course for Council space, then threw the Larva into a small cage and headed to the shuttle's sink to wash out the acid.

It would keep him from dying, but by the time he arrived in friendly territory, he would never see with his own eyes again.

Saren staggered over to his comm-system and contacted the Council. Thankfully, it was audio-only, so they wouldn't see his ravaged state.

"_SPECTRE Arterius, what do you have to report?" _Tevos asked, mere moments later.

"Mission… accomplished," Saren wheezed.

"_What's your status?" _Sparatus asked, _"You sound terrible."_

"Badly wounded," Saren mumbled, fighting to remain conscious, "Team dead. Need pickup… as soon as I'm in… Council space."

"_By the Goddess," _Tevos said softly, sounding horrified.

"_Of course," _Valern said, staying strong, _"We'll divert a Turian battlegroup to you as soon as you send us coordinates."_

By that point, Saren was already blind, so he had to verbally tell the Council where he was going. Only when they confirmed that help was waiting did he allow himself to pass out.

What neither Saren nor the Council knew, however, was that the Larva had heard every word… and so had the Queen of Blades.

…

**Elysium-1**

Shepard hated being pursued, and not just because he was used to being the predator, not the prey; it also reminded him of when he was on the run from Nova, one of the most harrowing experiences of his life.

Now, however, he was being hunted by three Krogan and a dozen Vorcha, the former of whom were apparently tracking him by his scent. That shouldn't have even been possible; the psionic field that powered his cloaking also blocked odors. Only specialized Zerg organisms could smell him, but apparently, a Krogan could as well.

He'd brought this on himself, he knew; he'd killed twenty Batarians, all officers or specialists, so it would make sense for the one in charge—Barik, if the thoughts he'd heard from some of the mercs was correct—to send a team after him before he killed the rest. He could have killed the aliens chasing him, but on the off-chance that they killed _him_, they might hit the colony while the garrison was distracted. Of course, that had been before the mercs had actually hit the base; from the radio chatter, it seemed that the aliens were getting slaughtered, and casualties on the Terran side were exceptionally light.

_Well, I don't want to miss the party, _Shepard thought with a grim smile, _time to turn the tables on my new friends._

He took a knee on top of a low hill and looked through the scope of his rifle. While the AGR-series didn't quite have the range of the Ghosts' Canister rifles, they could be used as decent sniper rifles. Unlike the Canister rifle, which could, at most, fire in bursts, the AGR could be fired on fully-automatic, with only a minor dip in accuracy.

Shepard only had to wait for a few minutes for his pursuers to finally catch up; the Krogan might have been able to catch his scent, but they were damn slow, save for those short-range charges. They kind of reminded him of Zealots; sadly for them, Shepard had experience in killing Zealots as well.

_First off, _Shepard thought, _take out the big guns._

Humming the tune of 'Sweet Home Alabama', Shepard aimed and fired a five-round burst at the nearest Krogan, which was still a hundred meters away. The first bullets brought the Krogan's barrier to a sliver of life; a second burst shattered it altogether, and the remaining momentum buried the bullets into the Krogan's throat. He roared in anger and pain, but a third burst went through his eye and into his brain, killing him.

Shepard calmly reloaded as the mercs figured out where he was shooting from, but they would be out of range for several more seconds, leaving him time to fire a few more times. Once again, three five-round bursts flew out, but this time, the Krogan didn't die; Shepard frowned and focused a burst of psionic power, popping the Krogan's head like a balloon. He could have finished him off with a final burst, but he decided to save the ammo for later.

Besides, there was still the pack of Vorcha charging in a shrieking mob. Shepard supposed that it might intimidate some, but after facing down Zerg, Protoss, Nova, even a freaking _god_, a bunch of aliens with same brainpower as an above-average rat didn't even make his top ten scariest fights.

_Time for something a little more interesting, _Shepard thought.

Spectres were extremely powerful psionics, but only the most proficient could master what Tosh called the 'mind blast'. While most Ghosts and Spectres could make a single person explode using their minds, it took a lot more effort to do the same thing to a group of people all at once; even more so when two groups were in a brawl, and someone only wanted to kill _one _of those groups. Shepard had only been cleared to use the mind blast six months ago, but had never used it in the field before.

Today, he'd find out if psionics were effective against Vorcha.

Shepard aimed his left hand at the approaching aliens, then clenched that hand into a fist. Twelve Vorcha suddenly turned into a pile of meat and antiquated guns. Still, Shepard felt quite the drain on his power; he estimated that would only be able to do something like that safely every ten minutes or so. That might change if his power kept increasing, but for now…

"Come out and face me, coward!" the remaining Krogan roared, as crackling purple energy danced across his armor.

_Right, almost forgot that they sent the Battlemaster after me, _Shepard sighed. He was just starting to aim his rifle, when the Battlemaster—Yent, Shepard remembered from a glance at the Krogan's mind—suddenly turned into a purple mass and rocketed forward. If Shepard hadn't rolled to the side at the last second, he'd have been pulped by the Biotic Charge. As it was, when Yent reappeared, he slammed his fists onto the ground, creating a biotic shockwave that knocked Shepard off his feet; the sharp pain knocked him out of his cloak, and his rifle was out of reach.

"There you are, little man," Yent grinned, "Time to face me like a true warrior!"

"_You_ fight like a warrior," Shepard shot back, "_I'll _fight like a winner!"

Yent roared and thundered forward, but in the few seconds it took to reach Shepard, the Spectre had drawn his pistol, fired six times, then tossed that to the side to pull out his knife. When Yent had used his shockwave, he'd drained his own barrier, so four powerful slugs ripped into his chest, while the other two smashed apart the trigger of his shotgun; it wasn't enough to kill him, but it did slow him down and, more importantly, it prevented him from keeping Shepard at range.

Shepard used the opportunity to rush in, score a deep gash in Yent's neck with his knife, then rolled between his legs and kicked the Krogan in the back. What would have killed a normal Human outright and seriously hurt an armored one was only an inconvenience to Yent, who was already regenerating. But it bought Shepard more time to dig deeper into the Krogan's mind, searching for weaknesses in his physiology; as Krogan fought each other so often, Yent had to know a few things about killing his own kind. What Shepard found made him grin.

"Sorry about this," he said, reactivating his cloak, "but you're in for a world of pain."

Reaching out with his mind, Shepard telekinetically latched onto Yent's head and dragged him forward. With a quick spin, Shepard's knife was now held in a reverse-grip; with a grunt, he plunged the blade into the back of Yent's head, right under the dull-green plate. With some effort, he pulled the blade up, popping off the plate like the lid of a can. Yent screamed in agony, flailing madly with his fists; one blow smashed into Shepard's side, but by then, he'd stabbed straight into Yent's brain, so what would have powdered his ribcage only gave him a slight fracture from a death-spasm.

Shepard pulled his knife out and wiped it on Yent's armor before sheathing it. He gathered up his other weapons and started heading back to the colony. From where he was now, he was less than an hour away.

Shepard laughed, even if it hurt his ribs, when he saw smoke rising in the distance, and heard the tell-tale sound of Siege Tanks firing.

_I hope Bailey isn't having too much fun without me._

…

Barik couldn't believe it; the Terrans had less than a hundred troops, his forces had outnumbered theirs more than three to one, he'd had the element of surprise and air-support. He was only supposed to be fighting civilians, maybe some ragtag militia.

Now, all he had left were a few dozen men who were cowering outside the range of the Terran artillery and a single Krogan who had lost so much blood that he'd forgotten his own name, while the Terrans had only lost a few of their soldiers.

_At least we took out one of those damn bunkers, _he thought bitterly as he looked at the wreckage of one of the bunkers. Still, three of the five men inside had survived, and the gunships that he'd thought would win the day had been blown out of the sky by an anti-air system that first launched two powerful missiles, and then a swarm of smaller rockets.

"Time to leave," he said sharply.

One of his men turned to him. "Sir?"

Barik scowled. "There's no way we can beat these bastards here. We'll have to hit another colony, with more men on our side… to hell with Saren's plans, I want that reward for Alliance tech!"

The Batarians around him nodded, but just as they began to turn and leave, a shadow passed overhead. At first, Barik dismissed the shadow as a cloud, but then it started getting bigger, it had a strange shape, and it was joined by a lot more just like it. He looked up and gasped.

Hundreds of creatures—glowing sacks, carapace and segmented legs—were hovering above and around them. Despite their fearsome appearance, the Terrans in the base were _cheering_. Barik realized that these had to be the Zerg he'd heard about, the ones who had been on the surface of Elysium-2.

The bellies of the Overlords opened up, first depositing a mass of purple slime, followed by packs of Zerglings and Roaches. In short order, Barik's forces were surrounded by hundreds of Zerg.

"I'd surrender if I were you," a voice said next to Barik, before a Terran appeared out of thin air. His armor was scuffed and dirty, but Barik was certain that he looked triumphant, even if he couldn't see past the Terran's helmet and didn't know what their facial expressions meant.

"You were the infiltrator," Barik hissed.

The Terran gave a mocking bow. "Lieutenant Shepard, proudly kicking your ass."

Barik opened his mouth to swear, but Shepard's fist became a blur, and the Batarian was knocked out in a single blow.

"Anyone else?" Shepard asked the remaining mercs, "I only knocked him out because he's in charge, but if any of you want to try something, my Zerg friends _will _eat you. Apparently, they find Batarians very chewy."

Several of the Zerg made odd coughing noises. Shepard could feel Kerrigan watching events unfold through her minions' eyes; she probably found his comment amusing, and the Zerg had responded by doing their best attempt at a laugh.

The Batarians took the hint and dropped their weapons. At this point, Bailey and two squads of Marines had joined them.

"Nice work, kid," Bailey said, holding out a fist, "Good thing you arrived when you did, otherwise we'd have been caught with our pants down."

Shepard bumped his fist against Bailey's. "Maybe our luck isn't so bad, huh?"

A loud vibrating sound shook the air; everyone looked up to see a squadron of Battlecruisers drop out of warp in low orbit.

"That seems a bit excessive for a rescue," Bailey commented.

Shepard shook his head. "I have a feeling that things are just getting started."

…

**Korhal**

"They're trying to find weaknesses in our defenses, testing our limits," Valerian said calmly as he read the report again, even though he'd memorized it.

The attack on the Elysium system was good propaganda for the Alliance, and a costly blunder for the Council. Between the bodies of SPECTREs on Elysium-2 and confessions from the mercenary leader on Elysium-1, the Alliance would be totally justified in going to war.

Despite not attacking any vessel outside of their space, the only thing the Alliance had done against the Council was counter their espionage of their space. All they had wanted was to be left alone, to prepare for the coming darkness that Tassadar had foretold. But the Council had attacked their borders and killed members of two factions. Valerian might have been the calmest as he spoke to the holograms of Artanis and Kerrigan, but even he couldn't stand the thought of his people getting attacked and letting the Council get away with it.

"_Which is why we should strike now," _Kerrigan growled, _"Those bastards thought they were going to massacre civilians; I think it's time someone got rid of the Batarians, don't you?"_

_{For once, we are in agreement, Kerrigan,} _Artanis said darkly, _{From what we have read, Council SPECTREs have used Batarians as an excuse to get away with terrible crimes. At the very least, we should do something to force the Council to stop hiding behind proxies. And besides… I cannot abide these slavers.}_

"Kerrigan, could the Swarm take over Batarian space in a week?" Valerian asked abruptly.

Kerrigan hesitated. _"Maybe two; we don't know where all of their planets are yet."_

"Then I propose this," Valerian said as he leaned forward, elbows resting on his desk. "We give the Council two weeks to offer a formal apology, raw resources as restitution—"

"_The return of the Larva they stole," _Kerrigan added.

Valerian nodded. "And hand over the SPECTRE who stole it, as well as have them move their fleets three light-years away from our borders."

_{I doubt they will oblige any of those requests,} _Artanis said, his eyes narrowed.

"I doubt they will as well," Valerian said, "However, on the off-chance that we're wrong, we can avoid a war. If we're right and we give them two weeks, we make ourselves look like we're taking a measured response. However, we can use that time to build up a fleet at our borders. At the moment, _we're _the wounded party; it is an opportunity that we cannot waste."

"_What about the Batarians?" _Kerrigan asked.

Valerian's eyes narrowed. "They're a race of bullies and slavers, and they're allowed to do it _legally_. They've been that way for thousands of years, with no sign of change. When the war begins, Kerrigan, you can give them one chance to surrender—the Dominion can demolish their technology and reduce them to a medieval state, effectively removing them from the board.

"If they refuse, kill any who try to fight you."

Kerrigan nodded. _"Good. Let's see what Batarian Essence feels like."_

_{What about us?} _Artanis asked.

Valerian smirked. "How do you feel about a joint attack with the Dominion Fleet and the Golden Armada?"

Artanis didn't have a mouth, but if he did, he'd have had a predatory smile. _{We smash apart their fleets at the border, show them that they're not as strong as they think.}_

Valerian nodded. "Perhaps we should pay a visit to the Citadel, while we're at it.

"However, there is one thing." Valerian's eyes were hard. "This war is not our priority. We need to end it as fast as possible, so that we can concentrate on the real threat.

"If we're going to survive _that_ war, we have to win _this_ one."

_Codex Entry: Terran Military Organization_

_The most basic Terran unit is the Marine, which travels in squads of twelve, ten Marines and two Medics. For every squad of Marines, Terran commanders typically add five-man squads of their heavy infantry, who are accompanied by an additional Medic. An example of this would be thirty Marines, five Firebats, five Marauders, five Hercs, and nine Medics. Other infantry, such as Reapers, Spectres and Ghosts, vary on availability._

_Light ground vehicles, such as Hellions and Vultures, are deployed in squadrons of five, while heavy vehicles, such as Siege Tanks and Diamondbacks, typically travel in squadrons of three. Super-heavy vehicles, only a rumor at this point, are usually deployed as one unit, but are supported by large amounts of infantry, vehicles and air-support._

_Smaller air units, such as Banshees, Vikings and Wraiths, are deployed in squadrons of twelve, while capital ship formations vary on the size of the engagement._

_It is rare for anything short of a day-old colony to have fewer than a hundred soldiers and a dozen vehicles on hand at any time. Older and more established Terran worlds have thousands of soldiers and hundreds of vehicles and aircraft on standby. These forces can easily be supplemented with militia forces; nearly every Terran is reported to have combat training, and over half of their adult population has actual combat experience._

_Typically, the highest-ranking Dominion officer is in charge of military operations on a colony. However, should that officer be incompetent or unfamiliar with either the terrain or the enemy, the leader of the militia can assume command. This leader is usually given the rank of Commander, a title of great respect among Terrans, due to its association with James Raynor. However, said militia leaders have to earn the rank; in the militia, there are no shortcuts._

**Well… that was fun. Stuff exploded, people died, the Council just woke the not-so-sleeping giant, and now we know how Saren loses his arm and eyes. Sorry for killing Bau and Vasir, but they were minor characters anyway.**

**I hope you enjoyed Shepard's first outing. Honestly, after Amon, there isn't a whole lot that would terrify the guy, so a couple of Krogan are 'meh' at best.**

**For those who say that Saren should have Roachlings bursting from his chest, everything about the Corpser says that the host of the parasite has to die within a certain amount of time, as the parasite is short-lived. I can only assume that, since Saren didn't die, the parasite in the acid died instead, and that said parasite's growth is triggered by the host's organs or parts or whatever ceasing to function.**

**Not a whole lot else to say this time around… awkward…**

**Next chapter: the Council panics, the fleets clash… and the Swarm is unleashed.**

**You are too late… the Muffin… lives…**


	7. First Strike

**STARCRAFT DOES NOT BELONG TO ME. MASS EFFECT DOES NOT BELONG TO ME. HAVING THE PEOPLE FROM BOTH UNIVERSES FIGHT TO THE DEATH IS MORE OF A HOBBY THAN ANYTHING ELSE.**

**When a friend screws up, you usually forgive them and help them to not screw up the same way. When your enemy screws up, however, you capitalize on that for your own advantage; when that enemy is of the military variety, then you just blow the bajeezus out of them.**

**Sorry for not updating as quickly as I have in the past. Between finals, other stories and, you know, free will, I've been a bit distracted. I hope this makes amends.**

**Also, before anyone goes nuts: There isn't a whole lot of info on **_**Gorgon **_**Battlecruisers, so I made them a bit crazy, taking into account some aesthetic things I saw in the game. Also, I know that in the game a Zergling can be spawned in 22 seconds. To make it remotely fair, as well as biologically feasible, let's say that it takes 22 minutes in real life to morph a pair of Zerglings.**

Cycles Upon Cycles

Chapter 6

First Strike

_Welcome back to UNN; I'm Kate Lockwell, and we have a breaking story. The Elysium system, specifically, the Terran colony on Elysium-1, was attacked yesterday by several hundred mercenaries from outside Alliance borders. Fortunately, Dominion casualties were minimal, while almost all of the mercenaries were killed, and the rest were captured. The commanding officer of the colony's garrison, Captain Bailey, credited Lieutenant Aaron Shepard, a member of Raynor's Raiders, with buying time for the Dominion troops to prepare for the attack. He said that if Lieutenant Shepard hadn't been present, Dominion losses could have been much higher._

_Unfortunately, Elysium-1 wasn't the only colony hit. Elysium-2, a new Zerg territory, was infiltrated by several special-forces soldiers, possibly SPECTREs, the Council's elite agents. While two of these agents were confirmed killed, one escaped with samples from the Hive Cluster._

_If these agents were indeed SPECTREs, then this was an act of war on the part of the Council. At the very least, the Zerg Swarm isn't taking this lying down; at least a hundred Leviathans have gathered at the Crossroads system, along with millions of smaller Zerg organisms, but for the moment, they aren't attacking. Joining them are dozens of Protoss vessels, as well as a large number of Terran ships._

_Alliance leadership isn't attacking, however, because they have made several demands of the Council. This attack may not even happen, if these demands are met; while not all of the demands were made available to us, nor when the deadline to meet these demands is, we do know that the most important one requires the Council to move its ships further from Alliance borders._

_For now, things are tense, but if anything changes, we'll let you know. This has been Kate Lockwell, for UNN._

**The Citadel**

"This is a disaster," Sparatus muttered into his hands, while his elbows were propped up on the table, "We've been exposed as authorizing an unprovoked attack on another civilization!"

It was worse than that; when the Alliance had released evidence of what Saren's forces had done, there had been enormous public outcry. Despite their isolationism, most people found the Alliance interesting, especially since they hadn't done anything unless they were hit first. When news that samples had been taken, many Asari were uncomfortable; if the Salarians got their hands on those samples, specifically, biological ones, there could be a new genophage unleashed.

If the Council started a war and then unleashed a bio-weapon… well, it didn't sit well with a lot of people. On the other hand, it didn't sit well with people in Citadel space that Alliance forces could get ready for a full-scale war in the ten days since their announcement. Council military forces were holding steady, but public opinion on the war was apprehensive, at best.

"Can we afford to give in to the Alliance's demands?" Valern asked, "At least, some of them? We can certainly afford the material restitution and a formal apology."

"Perhaps returning the samples, as well," Tevos added, and Sparatus nodded. Valern looked disappointed, but reluctantly nodded as well.

"But handing over Saren _and _ceding three light-years of space?" Sparatus huffed, "I can't condone that."

"Agreed," Valern said, "Saren is our best operative, and he is the only operative we have with any experience fighting the Zerg. Giving up that much territory as well…"

"The Alliance never said they would move into the area we would leave," Tevos said, though she had no plans of giving in to that demand, "I suppose that they just want it as a buffer-zone between us."

"That way, we can't move fleets close to their space," Sparatus sighed, then brightened a little, "On the other hand, they can't either."

"Don't forget, they don't require Mass Relays to move about the galaxy," Valern pointed out, and the mood dropped again.

"Perhaps the Alliance will see reason if we offer to meet all of their demands, save for Saren," Tevos said, "and rather than move our fleets back three light-years, we make it one."

Sparatus considered it. "It could work. I know for a fact that turning over Saren is unacceptable; besides the fact that it paints us as willing to sacrifice our own people, Saren is both our best SPECTRE and very respected among my people."

Tevos leaned back in her chair. "Let us hope that the Alliance agrees to our conditions."

…

**Char**

"Like hell I'll agree to that!" Kerrigan shouted, nearly making the holograms of Valerian and Artanis flinch, "I want Saren's head on a spike, and I want the Council to stay away from our territory!"

"_I understand, Kerrigan," _Valerian said, crossing his arms, _"Honestly, most of the Dominion is calling for blood, or at least a show of force to prevent something like this from happening again. We offered them a way out, but in this case, it's all or nothing."_

_{I agree,} _Artanis said, sounding surprised at his own words, _{The Council reminds me too much of the Conclave; they refuse to accept when they are in the wrong. At the very least, _we _apologized for opening up the Mass Relay. However, we can still wait another four days for them to change their minds.}_

"_I doubt they will," _Valerian said, _"I suspect that we will be forced to fight. We can win hearts and minds by not attacking civilians, treating prisoners well, and so on. If we get the public opinion of the Council races on our side, the Council will be facing two different wars."_

"Agreed," Kerrigan said, "Have you finalized your plans for the attack?"

Valerian nodded. _"I've just finished going over strategy with Artanis and Admiral Hackett; while our ships are superior for the most part, the Council fleets outnumber us by a large margin, so we'll have to make do with striking critical worlds quickly. Our warp-technology gives us greater maneuverability; once the Golden Armada scatters the fleets patrolling our borders, Dominion forces will warp to strategically important planets._

"_Our goal is not to conquer Citadel space, but to show them that we will not allow any trespass to go unpunished, and that we are not to be trifled with. We have to remember that."_

Kerrigan raised an eyebrow. "What about the Batarians?"

Valerian sighed. _"As we've agreed, civilians are to be left alone, as are any who surrender. However, they cannot be allowed to remain a threat or a tool for the Council; once they are defeated, we will make it clear that, other than for humanitarian purposes, the Council is to extend no help to the Batarians."_

Kerrigan looked away for a moment as she reached out to her Broods. "Four more days, boys… and then I unleash the Swarm."

…

**The **_**Kilimanjaro**_**, Crossroads System, 2509**

Admiral Steven Hackett, commanding officer of the entire Dominion Navy, stared impassively as his ships moved to the edge of the system. His flagship, the _Kilimanjaro_, was the second-largest vessel present, only dwarfed by the Protoss command vessel, the Carrier _Tassadar's Fury_, commanded by Executor Selendis. Between the Terrans and the Protoss, the Alliance had almost a thousand capital ships, ranging in size from Protoss Void Rays to Terran _Gorgon _Battlecruisers. Even without counting the tens of thousands of Interceptors within the Carriers, the fleet was also accompanied by thousands of fighters, from Wraiths and Vikings, to Scouts and Phoenixes.

Hackett, an aging veteran who had commanded ships since the before the Guild Wars, had faced everything the Koprulu Sector could throw at him; Terran, Zerg and Protoss threats had been met with unflinching resolve and a grasp of tactics that had only been countered by Raynor's Raiders, and even then, it had been a close-run thing.

With decades of warfare under his belt, Hackett found his opponents from Citadel space… disappointing. Even without the Protoss, the Dominion ships had superior armor and weapons; more importantly, nine out of ten Terran soldiers had experience in all-out war, something that the Council hadn't faced in centuries.

As Hackett's gaze drifted over his bridge, he smiled; the _Kilimanjaro _was a _Gorgon_, the largest class of ship in the Dominion's arsenal. At approximately 1,600 meters long, she was almost twice the size of a _Minotaur_, and armed appropriately; her armament included enough laser batteries to burn an entire city to ash in less than an hour, along with four times the missile pods as a _Minotaur_.

Her greatest strength, however, were her main guns; before the _Gorgon_, all Battlecruisers could mount a single Yamato cannon. While powerful, the Yamato's power-source ran the length of the ship, required vast amounts of power to fire, and the Battlecruiser firing it had to aim its prow at the target; the _Gorgon _had been designed to compensate for the fact that its bulk made a _Minotaur _look nimble in comparison, and had been equipped with _two _Yamatos, mounted on the undersides of the ship's hammerhead prow, and could swivel 180 degrees.

The catch, however, was that these Yamato variants had shorter range than those of a typical Battlecruiser, which was why the _Gorgon_s were so heavily armored. Terran shield technology was still developing and was leagues behind Protoss tech, so for the moment, there was a healthy balance between armor and shields. It was a shame that it took so long and so many resources to build a _Gorgon_; for every one they built in a year, they could build twenty _Minotaur_s.

When comparing his ship to those of the Council races, Hackett almost sneered; from what he'd learned of technology based around Element Zero—and tests done on the captured Batarian cruiser—Council vessels seemed to rely more on their kinetic barriers and point-defense systems to protect themselves. The only ships that had decent armor were of cruiser tonnage and above, and even then, shields were still of utmost importance.

In all honesty, having all this power was probably overkill, but Hackett had been told that the Alliance needed to show the Council its strength. Like a good soldier, Hackett would follow orders; then again, it was hard to argue _against _attacking an enemy that had inferior weapons, technology and less experience.

After the Council had failed to agree to all of the Alliance's terms, the Alliance had resigned itself to the inevitable conflict. As soon as the terms had been announced almost exactly fourteen days ago, the Alliance had been assembling several fleets; one, the main force, would attack the Council ships patrolling the border head-on, attacking in a visible pattern from within the Crossroads. A second fleet would hold position guarding the Outskirts, while also hiding a third fleet that would take advantage of the battle near the Crossroads and sneak into vital systems to wreak havoc. The fourth fleet was composed entirely of Zerg; its only purpose was to lay waste to Batarian space, and Hackett was happy to leave the Swarm to its own devices, even if a small part of him believed that no one deserved having the Zerg unleashed on them. There was a rumored fifth fleet, but if it did exist, its purpose was so critical that not even the rest of the Alliance could know about it.

Just before the Council had given their conditions, the fleets had assembled; now, it was a waiting game.

"How much time until the deadline is over?" Hackett asked in a gravelly voice.

"Five minutes, sir," an officer replied.

Hackett nodded. "Tell all ships to stay in formation; I see three ships in grid kilo-four that are drifting forwards. The Alliance wants to make sure that our word is good; we can't attack early."

"Yes, sir!"

"And get me a line to Selendis' ship," Hackett ordered, "Might as well make sure everyone's on the same page."

A moment later, Selendis' face appeared on a screen; she nodded at him. _{En Taro Tassadar, Admiral Hackett. Is something wrong?}_

"No problems on our end," Hackett said, "Just wanted to make sure your ships were ready."

Selendis could have taken Hackett's words as an insult, but after waiting for almost two weeks, the two had gotten to know each other. She knew that Hackett was a warrior who wanted to _do _something; he balked at the idea of seeing an enemy before him and not attacking, something they both shared.

_{Our vessels are ready, as are our warriors,} _she said, _{Do you believe that the Council will give in before we attack?}_

Hackett sighed. "I wish they would; we've seen enough death, and even though the Council annoys me to no end, I'm not in the mood to write more messages that start with 'I regret to inform you…'. Still, the Council is used to being top-dog; I doubt they'll just roll over."

Selendis nodded. _{I understand. I would also prefer that our time be spent on rebuilding and improving our societies, but the Council believes that their agents can attack our space and not face the consequences… that must end.}_

"Admiral," an officer said, her voice thick with tension, "There's less than thirty seconds 'til the deadline."

Hackett and Selendis both froze, before the former looked down at his watch. The time was ticking down, and there was still no response from the Council; if they were going to fold, they were cutting it damn close.

The seconds ticked by with agonizing slowness, only getting worse in the final moments.

3… 2… 1…

"Time's up," Hackett said grimly, then raised his voice. "Adjutant, prepare to broadcast a message to all Dominion ships."

"_Preparing," _the Adjutant said; while the AI was setting up a link to the Terran half of the fleet, Hackett turned to Selendis, still on the monitor.

"Good hunting, Executor."

_{To you as well, Admiral,} _Selendis said; her image then disappeared, likely to address her own forces.

"_Link established, Admiral," _the Adjutant reported, _"The fleet is receiving."_

Hackett nodded, then took a deep breath before speaking. "Soldiers of the Terran Dominion, I regret to tell you that the Citadel Council has refused to meet the demands the Koprulu Alliance has issued. The Council is responsible for attacks on the Elysium system, and the deaths of Terrans and Zerg; their refusal to hand over the agent directly responsible for this unprovoked attack is the same as harboring any other fugitive. By hiding one person who should face justice, they have shown their true colors.

"As of this day, the third day of January, 2509, the Koprulu Alliance is at war with the Citadel Council! We will not stop until victory is ours! We have suffered too much at the hands of outsiders; let this war be the last time it happens!"

With a savage gesture from Hackett, the Adjutant cut the link; the only line of communication between the ships was the more secure tactical link, which connected only the officers of the capital ships.

"All ships, begin the attack, but stay in formation; fighter squadrons, engage opposing fighters, keep them away from the capital ships so that we can focus on the enemy heavies!"

The plan, worked out between Hackett and Selendis more than a week ago, had the Protoss lead the charge. Their capital ships were faster and had better shields, allowing them to engage first and last long enough for the Terran heavies to catch up. The Protoss wouldn't be completely without Terran support, however; the Human fighters were almost as fast as their own, so Protoss energy-weapons would be accompanied by Terran lasers and missiles.

No matter how powerful the Alliance fleet was, however, it was never a good idea to underestimate an opponent; the Council fleet, comprised almost entirely of Turian warships, was their equal in numbers, though most of their ships were less than five hundred meters in length, while the largest were a trio of thousand-meter dreadnoughts.

Hackett could only imagine the looks on the Turians' faces; to them it would probably appear that a fleet comprised almost entirely of dreadnoughts was barreling down on them. The largest Alliance ships were four _Gorgon _Battlecruisers which, in a one-on-one fight, easily outmatched anything the Council had.

Unfortunately, the first few minutes of the battle were beyond Hackett's control; all he could do was watch.

Waves of fighters, both Terran and Protoss, were the first to hit the Council fleet; specifically, they engaged their opposites. The void soon lit up with flashes as missiles exploded against kinetic barriers, while mass-accelerated rounds slammed against shields and armor. What really turned the first fight in the Alliance's favor were the Wraiths; mere moments before the Alliance fighters came in range, the Wraiths activated their cloaks, disappearing from enemy sensors and eyes.

With lasers and missiles coming in from nowhere, the Council fighter squadrons were the sheep to the wolves that were the Wraiths.

By the time the Protoss warships got to the front, most of the enemy fighter squadrons had been destroyed or sent fleeing to the safety of the Council fleet. Scanners showed that over sixty percent of the enemy fighters had been destroyed, while less than ten percent of the combined Alliance fighters had been taken out. The remaining fighters swarmed around the heavier ships; the first round was over, but that had been the preliminary. The real show was about to begin.

Protoss Void Rays and Tempests engaged lines of Turian frigates and destroyers. The Protoss weapons completely bypassed the kinetic barriers of the Council ships; the Void Rays' weapons were scalpels, carefully cutting apart enemy ships, while the Tempests' less elegant attacks were even more effective, outright smashing any ship directly hit and damaging any other vessels that were nearby.

Despite the reeling blows, the Turians were quick to retaliate. Mass-accelerated rounds hammered the Protoss ships, even as their GARDIAN point-defense systems fought to keep the fighters at bay.

When the heavy Alliance ships reached the front lines, the Council fleet had lost over thirty percent of its lighter vessels, while another forty percent were critically damaged. Still, they'd taken out another twenty percent of the Alliance's fighters, and a dozen Void Rays and Tempests were out of the fight, either damaged or destroyed. However, now the depleted Council fleet was facing over six hundred ships that counted as dreadnought-class or larger.

Onboard the _Kilimanjaro_, Hackett personally acquired the targets for the Yamato cannons; his own ship was targeting one of the Turian dreadnoughts, which was busy trying to fend off several fighter squadrons.

"Fighters, prepare to break off on my mark," Hackett ordered, "All Battlecruisers, prepare to fire Yamato cannons."

Several seconds later, the Adjutant said, _"Admiral, all ships are reporting readiness."_

"Fighters, break off now!" Hackett grinned. "Fire."

The combined light of over five hundred Yamato cannons was blinding. When Hackett's vision returned, he saw the burning wreckage of over half of the remaining enemy fleet. There were still more than three hundred capital ships remaining—several dozen had used their superior maneuverability to outright dodge the Yamato strikes—but the sheer devastation they'd been hit with was sending them fleeing to the Mass Relay behind them. The Protoss were making sure that they didn't change their mind; the Carriers had unleashed swarms of Interceptors that hounded the ships until they were gone.

While most of the bridge erupted into cheers, Hackett looked over their casualties. The Dominion had lost almost two hundred fighters, mostly Vikings, but a few Wraiths as well, and a dozen Battlecruisers had taken damage while their Yamatos had been charging. The Protoss had lost nearly half the number of fighters as the Terrans, but several Void Rays and Tempests had been destroyed.

Though it was an overwhelming victory for the Alliance, Hackett knew that another like it would be unlikely. The Council now knew what the Terran and Protoss ships were capable of; granted, the Dominion had yet to unleash the _Loki_-class Super-Battlecruisers, and the Protoss hadn't deployed any Motherships or the _Spear of Adun_, so they still had some tricks up their collective sleeve, but unless the Council employed nothing but idiots in their militaries—unlikely, but possible—no victories would come this easy again.

"Set up the blockade around the Relay," he ordered, cutting the celebration short, "Tell the Engineering Corps that they can begin construction of the orbital platforms; I want the Drakken Pulse Cannons online before the day is over. This system has one inhabited world; send a force down there to take it, I don't want any surprises to hit us in the back."

Like a well-oiled machine, the officers got back to work, either relaying Hackett's orders or coordinating repairs, treatment of the injured, or search-and-rescue for pilots that might still be alive.

"Admiral!" the comms-officer said, getting Hackett's attention, "We just got an alert from Alliance command."

For a moment, everyone paused; Hackett nodded. "Go ahead."

The officer hesitated for a moment. "It's the Zerg, sir. They've engaged the Batarians."

More than one person on the bridge felt beads of sweat on their neck.

Hackett took a moment to make sure he was composed. "Then God have mercy on them, because the Swarm sure as hell won't."

…

**Torfan, Batarian Space**

The moon of Torfan, nestled at the very edge of Batarian territory and orbiting a gas giant, was a haven for not just Batarians, but also mercenaries, pirates and smugglers from across the Terminus Systems. Most non-Batarians hated actually coming to Torfan, mostly because the owners of the moon would squeeze every credit possible from them; unfortunately, the scum who went to Torfan only went because they were the sort that even other Terminus residents shut the doors to.

The only upside to being on Torfan—and it really only applied to Batarians—was that so many armed people on the moon could form a hasty army, if necessary. It was also one of a handful of systems that housed a Mass Relay into Batarian space, which was guarded by a fleet; it also happened to be an excellent staging point for Batarian raiders to strike easy targets within the Terminus Systems. While everyone knew that, the Council had long turned a blind eye to the goings-on in that region of the galaxy, mostly because the Batarians would kick up a fuss; it was easier to uphold the status quo than actually fix the problem.

The Zerg changed that.

A hundred Leviathans emerged from seemingly nowhere, their tentacles ripping apart the handful of pirate ships that were too slow to get out of the way. In minutes, the skies of Torfan were blocked out by the Leviathans, as well as millions of Mutalisks, Overlords, Corruptors and Brood Lords. The smaller fliers quickly forced the Torfan residents into the underground fortresses buried into the moon, while the Leviathans moved to blockade the Mass Relay, but not before releasing millions of drop sacs onto the surface. Due to the early air-superiority achieved by the Swarm's fliers, there were no anti-air emplacements to stop the landings. Within hours, a dozen Hive Clusters surrounded the surface-based entrances of the fortresses.

Those early Hive Clusters, however, were merely to keep an eye on the only way the Batarians had out to the surface, occasionally sending waves of Zerglings and Banelings to keep the defenders occupied. It kept eyes on those Hive Clusters, and not the ones further back; the Swarm devoted more energy into those, making sure they were advanced enough to support a Nydus network.

As the first night fell on what would be known as the Torfan Blitz, the Zerg allowed the defenders to rest, perhaps believing that their defenses would hold until reinforcements arrived.

They were wrong.

…

"These numbers can't be right," General Arkhan's gaze kept switching between the datapad on his desk and the scout that stood at attention, his eyes somewhat glazed; the Batarian General huffed, "I mean, really; there's no way that these Zerg could have landed half a million of their monsters in less than a day!"

The scout, another Batarian—Arkhan would never entrust anything important to the mercs and non-Batarian pirates currently holed up with him—looked sick. "Sir, most of their creatures aren't being landed… they're being _hatched_."

Arkhan blinked as he processed what he heard. Then he blinked again. "That's… not possible. I'm no scientist, but there's no way a creature can be conceived, laid as an egg, and hatched in only a few hours."

The scout held up his omni-tool and brought up a recording. "I took this earlier today; the smaller creatures aren't being created in hours, sir, they're being created in _minutes_!"

Sure enough, Arkhan watched as the image of a Larva wrapped itself in a greenish cocoon that slowly grew in size. The scout sped up the footage, but Arkhan kept his four eyes on the timer; when just over twenty minutes passed, the cocoon hatched, and two Zerglings—Raptors, if the extranet was to be believed—joined a growing pack of their brethren.

"Twenty minutes," he breathed out, "It takes twenty minutes to make two of those monsters!"

"It gets worse, sir," the scout said grimly, "I looked at another of the Hives and saw the other type of Zergling, the ones with the big fins; those get born in just a couple of minutes, and spawn three at a time."

Arkhan was just glad he was sitting down, but he lamented the absence of alcohol. "Get everyone we have up to the defenses, and for crying out loud, tell the techs to get our comms working again!"

The scout ran off to obey; Arkhan would have yelled at the man for not saluting, but he was too shocked by what he had seen. How were they supposed to hold out against an enemy that could replace its losses faster than they could be killed? If his calculations were right—and after years of overseeing taxes, slaves and shipments, Arkhan had an excellent grasp on numbers—the Swarm would number in the tens of millions within days, and that wasn't even counting the millions of fliers they'd arrived with!

Reinforcements had to arrive soon, Arkhan realized; if not, there wouldn't be anyone to reinforce.

…

The end of Torfan was swift and bloody. As the sun rose, Nydus Worms burst up from below the defenders, throwing them into disarray and damaging equipment. If that wasn't bad enough, they then opened up and deposited waves of Zerg; the first wave was comprised of the fleshy Banelings of both the Splitter and Hunter strains. The suicidal Zerg crashed into the defenders and detonated, showering them with acid; the Hunters would jump over cover and explode behind them, while the Splitters would explode, then turn into smaller Banelings that would explode again.

The suicidal rush only lasted for a few seconds, enough to divide the defenders' attention; while some turned to counter the attack from below, the Zerg on the surface charged one last time. Guns overheated and malfunctioned in the effort to cut down the unending tide of flesh and carapace; for every Zerg that died, ten more took its place.

Back down below, the defenders were attacked again, this time by Roaches and Hydralisks. The more durable Roaches attacked in the wider hallways, their acid melting anyone unfortunate enough to get in their way; depending on what strain they were, the Roaches either rooted soldiers in place, unable to move as they melted, or exploded when they died, birthing Roachlings that joined the attack.

The more flexible Hydralisks slithered down the narrower passageways, their spines and claws making short work of anyone they hit, but they were also the ones that the soldiers had an easier time fighting. The Hydralisks were more fragile than the Roaches, and two or three shotgun-blasts to the head could put one down. However, the Hydralisks had both numbers and speed on their side, and their ability to catch prey was uncanny, even if they had to climb over piles of their own dead to get there.

Of the ten thousand soldiers, mercenaries and disreputable people defending Torfan, less than a hundred were captured, mostly because the majority of them assumed that they would be killed to the last. Those that attempted to surrender, however, were merely shepherded into a small area of the base and put under guard; they would be delivered to wherever the largest concentration of survivors gathered, once the war was finished.

One of those captured was General Arkhan, and he was the only one brought to the surface before the battle was over. He looked up to see a Leviathan hovering above him. This Leviathan looked different than the others he'd seen; it had a thicker carapace, and its hide was crisscrossed with scars.

A single Overlord floated out of the Leviathan, flying down until its legs almost brushed the Creep-covered ground. It opened up, and deposited the Queen of Blades; for a few seconds, Kerrigan didn't even pay attention to Arkhan, merely looking around at the aftermath of the battle.

"Well, well," she finally said, her two eyes locking with Arkhan's four, "This is the first time the Alliance has invaded a sovereign nation, did you know that? I suppose I could kill you, General; after all, the Swarm is the only one attacking Batarian space, so no one would be the wiser. Then again, the Zerg have been monsters for years."

Arkhan had a growing suspicion that the Queen of Blades was speaking mostly to herself at that point, but her words were no less disturbing; she'd said that the Zerg had been monsters, not that people _saw _the Zerg as monsters.

Before the Batarian could open his mouth, Kerrigan looked at the two Hydralisks guarding the General.

"Take him back to his men; as of now, Torfan is where we will keep all our prisoners."

"This moon can't hold more than a few hundred thousand people at a time," Arkhan yelled, as the Hydralisks began moving him away, "Most of the moon is uninhabitable by my people!"

Kerrigan shrugged. "That's okay… I suspect that there will still be plenty of room for you. Taking prisoners is tedious anyway."

…

**Lyria System**

When Dominion forces began landing on the sole planet of the Lyria system, they encountered stiff resistance from the Turian garrison. However, the world didn't have much in the way of military infrastructure, only a small base that had housed the Asari military stationed to protect the relatively new Asari colony. When tensions began rising between the Council and the Alliance, the Turians had sent in a thousand soldiers, a hundred tanks and over two hundred fighters to turn the colony into a fortress.

Trenches were dug, pillboxes were manned by both living troops and VI-controlled turrets, heavy guns were placed just outside the colony, which had been ringed by a thick wall. Civilian homes had rudimentary bomb-shelters installed, while the civilians themselves had been trained to recognize various warning-sirens; any Asari that was old enough was taught how to shoot a gun but, to the frustration of the Turians, most of the colonists laughed off their efforts. They all assumed that the entire thing would blow over, and the Hierarchy would end up wasting taxpayer credits and time.

Because most of the Asari didn't take the threat seriously, they panicked when the extranet reports showed the Council fleet being routed, and a detachment of Dominion ships heading right for Lyria.

To their credit, the Turians were able to calm the frightened masses down; pistols were handed out to terrified mothers and told to only shoot if a weapon was pointed at them. The Turians told the colonists that they would defend them until the end, but also advised that if the Alliance broke into the colony and asked for their surrender, the Asari should obey. Further violence would only endanger innocents.

The first encounter between Turian and Terran forces happened three hours after the Dominion began landing. A squad of Marines was patrolling the edge of the Terran line when they ran into a team of Turian scouts. Shots were fired; four scouts were killed, as were three Marines. Unfortunately, this occurred while both the Dominion commanding officer and his opposite among the Turians were attempting to talk each other down. When news of the skirmish arrived, both sides blamed each other for attacking first; it would be hours before the truth was uncovered, that it was just a chance encounter, but by then, the battle had started.

The Dominion first attacked the system of trenches with an air-strike; twin-rotor Banshees flew over the defenses, their Backlash rockets ripping into the ground. The Turians had built their fortifications well, however, and the attack did little damage; unfortunately, the Turians couldn't do much to counter the Banshees, as they could cloak. The only real damage the Banshees did was take out the Turian artillery; they could have bypassed the Turians entirely and attacked the colony, but they didn't. It was assumed that the Dominion had standing orders to not attack noncombatants.

When it became apparent that they would need bigger guns to crack open the Turian defenses, the Dominion deployed a line of Siege Tanks to bombard the trenches. Though some damage was dealt to the first line, the main purpose of the barrage was to keep the Turians' heads down for the _real _attack.

…

"What do you see, what do you see?"

"Shut up, I can't see anything, there's too much smoke!"

Aila huffed at her older sister's words; she crossed her arms and sulked on the other side of the balcony. The two young Asari had been told to stay in their home for now; the battle had been going on for less than twelve hours, but it seemed that the Turians were holding firm. After the first few hours, however, Aila and Viraya had gotten bored; they'd heard the stories of intense battles from their mother, who had been a Commando two centuries ago, and they wanted to see if it was as cool as the stories.

Once their mother had left to join the hastily-formed militia, Viraya had stolen the scope from the old rifle mounted on the wall; the rifle hadn't worked in decades, but the scope did, and the two sisters had run up to the balcony to see what was going on.

However, after the strange tanks had transformed into giant guns and started pounding the Turian lines, the Terran side of things had been obscured by a thick wall of smoke. They could still see the screaming shells as they crashed against the Turian lines. Viraya was just glad that the explosions drowned out the screams; at only twenty, Aila was far too young to have that seared into her nightmares. Then again, Viraya was only sixty, so she wasn't one to talk.

Aila huffed again. "Will you at least let me know if something changes?"

Viraya rolled her eyes, but dutifully held the scope up against her eye. She didn't pay much attention to the Turian side—she knew all she'd see was smoke, debris and bodies; she'd looked that way once, then had to shoo Aila away while she threw up. Instead, she stayed focused on the wall of smoke; if anything interesting was going to happen, it would happen there.

_Boom._

The sisters looked at each other at the sudden noise. It wasn't like the shots from the tanks, so what made that—

_Boom._

There it was again, only a little louder. Viraya shivered, but couldn't explain why.

"That sounds like footsteps," Aila said, her voice eerily calm.

Viraya was about to refute the claim, but then the booming came again, this time much faster, but still rhythmic. Now that she paid attention, Viraya realized that it _did _sound like footsteps; but what could be big enough to have footsteps like that?

A moment later, she got her answer.

Lumbering through the smoke, a red-and-black colossus stomped forward. It was huge, easily twenty-five meters tall! Its legs were small, but had plenty of stabilizers to help support its massive chassis, enormous cannons for arms, and what looked like four giant armored smokestacks on its back. Its beak-shaped cockpit was set near the center of the chest, giving it a hunchbacked appearance; on either side of the cockpit were racks of missiles.

The two Asari children were so awestruck by the Council forces' first encounter with a Thor that they almost missed the mass of infantry and vehicles that gathered around the giant walker. At first, Viraya was confused; why wasn't anything happening? Then the four 330 millimeter cannons, what she had thought were smokestacks, deployed over the Thor's shoulders and opened fire. A barrage of shells slammed into the Turian line, the force of the explosions making even Viraya and Aila's home shake. When Viraya looked through the scope again, she started trembling; a chunk of the trenches had been blown apart, and now the Dominion was charging in.

…

Captain Clovius ripped his helmet off and threw it aside; the damn thing may have saved his life from a chunk of shrapnel, but it was useless now. The Terrans had broken the front line of the trenches, and they were moving in.

"Get ready, men!" he shouted, gathering together a few dozen soldiers who had survived the bombardment from that giant… thing. "They'll be here soon, but we're not going to give up without a—"

"Look out!" a soldier interrupted, "Incoming—argh!"

A burst of bullets from a pair of gauss pistols ripped into the Turian who'd shouted; his weakened shields failed him, and four bullets blew his head apart.

Clovius looked up to see what had killed the soldier; there they were, in the sky, twenty… no way.

_By the spirits, _Clovius thought, _these lunatics are using jump-packs! Are they suicidal!?_

Just as the dumbstruck Turians were raising their guns, two squads of Reaper jump-troopers landed in their midst. Their armor was heavy enough that any Turian they landed on was squashed, while several more were killed by overwhelming fire.

Clovius was able to fire off a burst into one Terran, but his aim was off and only hit the target's shoulder, staggering it. With a snarl, the Reaper fired both gauss pistols' entire clips into Clovius' face, turning his head into chunks of mist and carapace.

"Here's something to remember me by, assholes!" that Reaper shouted with a female voice; she tossed a circular device into the midst of a Turian squad, and it was joined by several more from other Reapers.

"Let's go, boys!" Sergeant Major Jack activated her jump-pack and rocketed away, her Reapers right behind her. The arrival and departure of the Terrans was so swift that by the time it registered in the Turians' minds to get away from whatever was thrown at them, the demolition charges exploded, killing them all and widening the gap in the trench line.

Thanks to the chaos caused by the Reapers, the Turians were unable to get reinforcements to the front in time. By the time reinforcements _did _arrive, they found their way blocked by waves of fire, courtesy of squads of Firebats. In the restricting trenches, flamethrowers were the deadliest weapons, as the Turians soon learned; between the Firebats in the trenches themselves and the Hellions that patrolled the raised ground between the trenches, the Turians were being burnt out.

In short order, the Turians had to abandon the trenches, but as soon as they did, they were surrounded by squadrons of Banshees that decloaked before their eyes. Seeing that the Turians were out in the open and had no way of beating them, the ranking Dominion officer asked for their surrender.

Reluctantly, the Turian commander agreed, but asked that he be allowed to try to convince the terrified Asari within the colony to stand down. The Dominion officer permitted it, but both he and the Turian commander were surprised by the Asari response; most of the civilians had panicked upon seeing the Turian line crumble, there was rioting, fires were breaking out, and there were already several deaths.

As neither the Terrans nor the Turians wanted to see innocent people die, it was quickly agreed that several unarmed Turians would accompany Terran squads into the colony to calm them down, or at least pacify the worst of the rioters.

Though the battle between the Dominion and the Turians had been over in less than a day, it would be three more before they were able to stop the rampaging Asari.

…

"Come on, Aila, we have to move!" Viraya frantically tugged on her sister's hand, but Aila wouldn't budge.

"Mommy said to stay at home!"

"Our home is on _fire_," Viraya countered, more harshly than she'd intended, but after three days without food, no sign of their mother, and then a bunch of crazy Asari burning their house, Viraya had very little compassion left.

"It's over!"

Viraya spun around at the voice behind them; while the riots had finally started to calm down, there were several dozen Asari who had completely snapped, claiming that it was the end of the world, and that they would all die, either by Terran hands or Asari.

One of those lunatics, her once-elegant dress now shredded and drenched in blood, was stumbling towards them, a jagged piece of metal clutched in one hand. Her eyes were wide and glassy, and there was a disturbing smile on her face.

"It's all over," the Asari said, almost trancelike, "The Goddess is punishing us for our sins! Join me, children; we'll meet the Goddess together!"

Viraya froze; she couldn't move, she couldn't _breathe_, but she had to do _something_, or this crazy person would kill her and… and Aila.

The thought of her little sister galvanized Viraya into action; she grabbed a broken piece of pipe and waved it in front of her.

"Get away from us!" she screamed, but as soon as the words left her mouth, the older Asari's hand glowed with biotic power, and then Viraya was flying backwards, landing in a heap next to Aila.

The crazy Asari staggered over to Viraya and grabbed her by the throat with her free hand and started strangling her. Aila tried to help her sister, but was backhanded away by the insane woman. Viraya, the wind already knocked out of her by the biotic punch, struggled feebly against the other Asari's grip, but to no avail; her vision began going dark, her hearing started going strange…

And then there was a mechanical roar, a red blur, and the hand let go. Viraya took a deep lungful of air, only to have it nearly pushed out of her again when a crying Aila crashed into her. While holding her sister, Viraya saw the back of her savior.

The jump-pack on the Reaper's back cut out, and the Terran's boots touched the ground. Lying in a heap several feet away, the crazy Asari was knocked out, the shard of metal nowhere to be found. From the position of the Terran's fist, it had punched the Asari hard enough to knock her out. The Reaper turned to look at the Asari children, and they recoiled at the sight of the helmet, fashioned after Human gasmasks from centuries ago.

"You two okay?" the Reaper asked, her voice coming out deeper through her helmet's speakers.

Viraya nodded, but shifted Aila so that her sister was behind her, in case the Terran tried something.

The Reaper sighed, the sound coming out as crackling feedback, before removing her helmet. Her face was small when compared to her armor; she had pale skin, high cheekbones, full lips and a shaven scalp. Several tattoos could be seen creeping up her throat.

"Listen, kid, I'm not gonna hurt you," the woman said, "My name's Jack, and I'm making sure all the crazies aren't killing the non-crazies." Jack jerked a thumb over her shoulder at the unconscious Asari when she mentioned 'crazies'. "Anyway, I'm going to call my squad to secure the area, and then we'll get someone to take you to the other Asari."

Viraya narrowed her eyes in suspicion. "How do we know you're telling the truth?"

Jack scoffed. "Kid, if I wanted to kill you, I'd have done it. You haven't done shit to me, you probably haven't done shit to anyone, so why should I kill you?"

While Viraya wanted to be cautious around these aliens, it was hard to ignore Jack's tone. It was dripping in indifference, but at the same time, there was a gruff compassion behind it.

Before Viraya could speak, Aila stepped around her older sister and looked up into Jack's eyes. "Do you promise we'll be safe?"

Jack smirked. "Safer than right here, kid; now hang on, I gotta call my boys."

The woman put her helmet back on; a few seconds later, nine more Reapers plummeted to the ground, activating their jump-packs at the last second to prevent injury.

"You two," Jack said, pointing at two Reapers, then at the unconscious Asari, "Take her dumb ass and drop her off with the other nut-jobs."

"You got it, boss," one of the Reapers said, and he and the other moved off.

"Someone call a Medivac," Jack added, pointing at Viraya and Aila, "Got a couple of dumb kids that need to get out of here."

A few minutes passed, and then a Terran transport arrived; two Marines, a Medic and a Turian soldier hopped out. The Turian gently took Viraya and Aila and assured them that he would help find their mother. Just before the Asari got on board the ship, Jack's voice rang out.

"Hey, kids!" the Asari children saw Jack with her hands on her hips. "Don't do anything stupid, okay?"

Somehow, Viraya knew that that was as close as Jack got to a heartfelt goodbye. She smiled and waved; she was soon mirrored by Aila, and the two kept waving until the Medivac's ramp closed. Viraya walked over to a row of chairs, allowed a Marine to secure Aila in the one next to hers, and leaned her head back.

Despite attacking her home, despite how afraid everyone had been of the Alliance, it had been a Terran who had saved them from one of their own people. As Viraya started to drift off, she remembered some of the stories her mother had told her, about the heroes and villains, good and evil.

Viraya didn't know about the rest of the galaxy, but she was suddenly unsure who the heroes and villains were here… if there were any to begin with.

…

**The Citadel**

Five days. In five days, the Alliance had shown exactly why the Council should have left them alone. The fleet patrolling the border of Council and Alliance space had been smashed aside, half a dozen worlds were being blockaded and invaded, and all communications with Batarian space had been cut off.

Sparatus felt despair, but also confusion as he looked through the growing list of casualties; with the staggering amount of firepower the Alliance had at their disposal, he'd expected far more civilian casualties. The number of military deaths had reached six digits on the second day, but there were less than two hundred civilian casualties.

"This is impossible," Valern said, then whirled on Sparatus. "Where is the Hierarchy's fleets, Sparatus!? Reports show that the Alliance barely has fifteen hundred ships in our territory now; your people outnumber them at least four to one!"

Sparatus slammed his fist on the table. "Don't you think I know that, Valern!? We've been preparing for this ever since we first encountered the Alliance, but clearly, we didn't know enough about them to properly counter their attacks! We can't match them for raw power in space, and our armies aren't experienced in this kind of warfare, something the Alliance seems to know every intricacy of!"

"And that is not the worst of it," Tevos said gravely as she entered the room, "I found this this morning."

Activating her omni-tool, Tevos brought up a news-broadcast from Thessia. It showed hundreds of Asari stepping out of ships and into the arms of waiting medics, but many of the refugees bore signs of medical treatment already.

"_This is just one scene among dozens being played out across Thessia," _an Asari reporter said, _"Ships filled with Asari refugees escaping the conflict between the Alliance and Council forces. When asked how they managed to escape, many of these refugees are crediting the Alliance with providing basic medical care and securing transport for them. Let's see what one of these lucky souls has to say. _

"_Excuse me, little one, can you tell me where you're from, and what happened?"_

A young Asari, only a few decades old by the looks of her, was holding onto the hand of what had to be one of her parents, clad in an old, battered set of armor. The mother looked down at her daughter and nodded, then returned to rocking the sleeping form of another, even younger, Asari.

"_My name is Viraya," _the young Asari said, _"I was living in the colony on Lyria, and then the Turians and the Terrans started fighting. The Terrans blasted the Turians with this giant mech thing, and then they made the Turians surrender, but then a lot of people in the colony went crazy."_

"_What do you mean by 'crazy'?" _the reporter asked, her tone less condescending and instead, genuinely curious.

"_People got really scared because the Turians said they would protect us, but then they surrendered when the Terrans promised not to hurt anyone. I guess they thought it was a lie or something, but a bunch of people started breaking things and setting other things on fire. They did that to my house."_

"_I see," _the reporter said, looking mildly disturbed now, _"And what happened next?"_

"_Well, the Terrans and the Turians started helping people and stopping the crazies," _Viraya said, _"My little sister, Aila, and I were getting away from our house when one of the crazies attacked us. I thought I was going to die, but then a Terran showed up and knocked her out. She made sure that we got picked up, and then a nice Turian helped us find our mother. And then the Terrans got a ship and sent us here."_

"_Well, there you have it," _the reporter said, looking back at the camera, _"The Alliance seems intent on attacking our military, but not innocent people. Still, there are reports of many, many dead. It raises the question: would the Alliance have attacked if the Council had just given them what they wanted?"_

Tevos shut the image off with a groan. "We have to end this as soon as possible."

"If we offer a peaceful solution now, we look weak!" Sparatus argued.

"And if we don't, the Alliance may stop caring about civilians!" Tevos snapped. "I cannot, in good conscience, let so many people die when a simple solution is right in front of me!"

"We may not have a choice but to fight," Valern said, looking up from his omni-tool, "STG spy-drone reported in. The Zerg have pushed all the way to Khar'shan."

"So soon?" Tevos whispered, and dreaded what would happen once the Zerg finished with the Batarians; as much as it pained her to admit it, she knew that as long as the Batarians held the Swarm's attention, it meant that the other Council races were spared from a third enemy.

Now it was Sparatus' turn to look at his omni-tool. "I'm getting reports that the rate of Alliance victories is slowing down; our strategists are getting used to Alliance tactics, though we still have no way to counter the energy-based weapons."

Valern sighed. "Mass Effect technology is based around kinetic energy; the only way to counter it would be to redesign the entire basis for our society from the ground up. We can work on strengthening kinetic barriers and armor, however; that could save lives when fighting the Terrans and Zerg, prevent too many casualties as we work out a truce with the Alliance."

Tevos nodded. "I'll see if I can get more Element Zero from some contacts of mine; if we're strengthening our defenses, we're going to need a lot more to compensate."

"There's still one more issue," Sparatus said quietly, "What do we do about Saren?"

That made the other Councilors pause; Saren was currently undergoing physical therapy to adjust to his new eyes and arm. On the one hand, giving him to the Alliance would ease tensions, but on the other…

Tevos shook her head. "Though SPECTRE Arterius' actions sparked this conflict, we cannot just sacrifice one of our own people. If the Alliance has a problem, we can ask if they would do the same if they were in our position."

"From the ethical stance they've shown, that might dissuade them," Valern said.

"But that's for later," Sparatus said, standing up, "All this means nothing if we are overwhelmed before we can agree to anything with the Alliance. Let's get back to distributing supplies.

"We have a hard war ahead of us."

_Codex Entry: Super-Dreadnoughts_

_Once applied to only the Citadel Fleet's flagship, the _Destiny Ascension_, the Alliance has shown that it is in possession of several ships that are beyond the size-classification of dreadnought. The first, and smallest, of these is the Terran _Gorgon _Battlecruiser; observation of this ship shows that it is capable of levelling cities, and carries a small army that can be deployed at any time. _

_The Zerg 'capital ships' are, in reality, giant organisms, called Leviathans; each is approximately two kilometers long and can sustain massive damage before dying. It also contains enough Zerg organisms within it to field a large army within minutes, and can also provide the biomass and energy necessary to set up a sizeable Hive Cluster within several hours. _

_The Protoss have two super-dreadnoughts: first is the Mothership, almost five kilometers in diameter. It possesses formidable weapons, but its primary function seems to be as support; it can warp friendly forces to its location, even over great distances, provide a cloaking-field over nearby allies and somehow phase enemies out of existence for brief periods of time. As Motherships are never without an attendant fleet, it is extremely ill-advised to attack one. The second super-dreadnought is the _Spear of Adun_, a ship that is over twice the size of the Citadel. While it had never been seen in combat, images of the ship, compared to identified Protoss weaponry, prove that the _Spear _has enough firepower to level cities._

_Codex Entry: Zerg Strains_

_Each Zerg Brood has several variations of almost every base creature, but can only field one of the strains. For example, a Brood that uses Raptor Zerglings cannot use Swarmlings. This had led to some Broods 'specializing' in their tactics. Most Broods either employ a 'quantity' or 'quality' army; a 'quantity'-based Brood will use Swarmlings, Splitter Banelings and Corpser Roaches, while a 'quality'-based Brood will employ Raptors, Hunter Banelings and Vile Roaches. Despite this, several Broods have been seen employing mixed forces, and every Brood is capable of creating millions of warriors in days._

**And the war begins! I know that it seemed like the Council forces got their asses kicked… and you would be right. However, consider this: the Council is facing an enemy that it has never known before. Before you win against the unknown, you're going to get stomped. A lot. However, things are going to change as Council forces get used to Alliance tactics, technology and, in the Zerg's case, biology.**

**Some things that I should mention:**

**Tempests: Um, I know that I had the Tempests attacking air targets, and I know that Blizzard said that they can now attack only ground units. My rebuttal: I don't care. It's firing a giant ball of energy, I say it should be able to hit things in space, too!**

**The Zerg sweeping through the Batarians: I know I didn't go into a whole lot of details, but it was going to basically be 'Zerg attack, Batarians fight, then get overwhelmed'. I thought I'd save the repetition and just cut straight to the final battle… which is later.**

**The Thor: Okay, I know that the Thor no longer has the big cannons in the game, but you know what? I don't care. I think they're awesome, and I'm keeping them.**

**The Asari going nuts: Your home has been attacked and the people who have defended you for more than a thousand years just outright surrendered. Those of weak constitutions will freak out. People do stupid things when they're scared, such as riot, vandalize, and try to kill people. Mob mentality and all that.**

**Jack: Eh, putting in Jack was more of a whim than anything else. And yes, I made her a Reaper. The StarCraft kind, not the bug/squid thing. Note to self: consider changing the name of the Mass Effect Reapers so as to avoid confusion. Anyway, Jack being a Reaper just made so much sense if you look up their lore.**

**Next chapter: The war has only just begun. Both sides reach out to less-than-reputable allies for help. The result is a battle over the worst place in the Terminus Systems. Meanwhile, the Zerg prepares for the final push against the Batarians. The Swarm hungers…**

**The Muffin Cluster is under attack!**


	8. The Hammer Falls

**STARCRAFT DOES NOT BELONG TO ME. MASS EFFECT DOES NOT BELONG TO ME. THE RIGHT TO GET RID OF A BUNCH OF FOUR-EYED, BULLYING SLAVERS FOR NO MONEY IS MORE OF A PRIVILEGE THAN ANYTHING ELSE.**

**I'm not sure if I believe in karma. I know that it **_**should **_**exist, however, which is why I'm sic'ing the Zerg Swarm on the Batarians. After thousands of years of getting away with this crap, they freakin' deserve it.**

**Also, I am really excited to bring in one of my favorite non-crew Mass Effect characters. Bring on the explosions!**

Cycles Upon Cycles

Chapter 7

The Hammer Falls

_Welcome back to UNN, I'm Kate Lockwell. The war against the Citadel Council continues, and reports suggest that Council forces are buckling down to make the Alliance's job more difficult. However, it might be too little, too late; estimates of enemy casualties say that the Council has lost over a thousand ships now, along with hundreds of thousands of soldiers. Most of the enemy presence seems to be Turians, but there have been reports of Asari Commandos and Salarian Special Forces on several battlefields. Other races that are associated with the Council, such as the Hanar and the Elcor, seem to be neutral in this conflict._

_While Dominion and Protoss losses are lighter than expected, there is little to report on the Zerg. We only know that they went into Batarian space at the beginning of the war, but nothing about how the battles are progressing. We were able to find out that any Batarians that surrender have been shipped to the moon of Torfan, which in itself is amazing; just a few years ago, the idea of the Zerg sparing _anyone _would never cross our minds. Still, the amount of POWs isn't very large. It begs the question: just how bad is it for the Batarians?_

_We'll keep you updated with further developments. For UNN, I'm Kate Lockwell._

**Khar'shan**

Kerrigan eyed the gray, polluted landscape from orbit aboard her Leviathan. The Batarian homeworld was just as unappealing as the people living on it; if it weren't for the fact that the Hegemony had angered her so much, she might have avoided them on principle.

The war—more of a skirmish by Koprulu Sector standards, really—with the Batarians had been quick and overwhelmingly in the Swarm's favor. In less than a week, the entire Batarian civilization had been reduced to Khar'shan and a few scattered colonies. When it became clear to the Batarians that they would not be able to stop the Swarm's advance with a series of smaller engagements, they had withdrawn everything they had to their homeworld. Kerrigan had been grudgingly impressed at how fast they'd moved, probably because they were experienced in fast raids.

As it was, the Swarm had just over a hundred Leviathans, along with millions of smaller fliers, surrounding Khar'shan, preparing to fight against almost two thousand capital ships and almost fifty thousand fighters. Kerrigan would have ordered the attack sooner, but she had a few minor issues to address first.

Izsha slithered up to her to report on one such issue. "My Queen, the detachment of Leviathans and their escorts have reached the Lyria system. They are depositing the freed slaves to the Dominion."

"Good," Kerrigan said, "Now there's one less thing to get in the way."

On many of the Batarian worlds the Swarm had attacked, they'd found tens of thousands of slaves. Asari, Turians, Salarians, Quarians and every other race in Council space; there were even some other Batarians. The slaves had been freed, placed inside of several Leviathans and sent to the closest Alliance outpost to Council territory. The Quarians would be patched up and sent to Rannoch, while the fates of the others were still being debated.

A telepathic nudge informed Kerrigan that the second issue was ready to be addressed; after dismissing Izsha, she walked into the Evolution Pit, where Abathur was hard at work incorporating new Essence into the Swarm. So far, the Zerg had only collected enough samples from the Batarians to get anything useful, but they'd obtained some biomass from the other races to start experimenting, at least.

Abathur, a bloated worm-like creature with multiple spindly arms, nodded at Kerrigan as she entered his place of work.

"My Queen," Abathur said, the words coming out clearly, despite his mouth being a gaping hole and a few insect-like feelers, "Found use for Batarian Essence. Can incorporate into both Hydralisk and Roach strains."

Kerrigan tilted her head, curious. "It's not often we get something for two different units."

Abathur gave his best impression of a shrug. "Found useful recessive genes. Roach only morph that could benefit.

"Dominant trait in Batarian optical systems: can see in multiple spectrums of light, normally filtered out by subconscious. Hydralisks can now see in infrared and have increased accuracy.

"Roach one of few Zerg that can operate underground without assistance, but darkness of tunnels impedes vision. New sequences add improved vision in darkness."

Kerrigan smiled coldly. "The Hydralisks are now excellent hunters, while the Roaches are now tunnel-fighters. Excellent work, Abathur, these improvements will help end this battle faster. I want the Batarians to know that they won't be allowed to get away with whatever they want anymore."

"Suggest wipe out all Batarians," Abathur said, "Permission to continue breeding poses miniscule danger to Swarm… and allies."

Abathur's hesitation of adding the other members of the Alliance reminded Kerrigan that her closest Zerg advisors and leaders were still unused to working with other species. It was one reason why she wanted to attack the Batarians without support from the Terrans or Protoss; this was a way for the Swarm to get back in touch with their original purpose—as weapons—without worrying about collateral damage to their allies. Many Broodmothers found the campaign against the Batarians to be cathartic.

Still, Kerrigan shook her head. "We can't distract ourselves with this war when we've got something much worse on the horizon. We'll let the Batarians survive, just to keep the Council from being a problem. Once the real threat is dealt with… maybe we'll come back here."

Abathur nodded. "Am pleased to hear it. Will continue working here, improve Swarm for future confrontation."

Kerrigan spared a moment to smile at the creature's dedication; as she walked back to the nerve-center of the Leviathan, she reached out to her closest lieutenants.

{Zagara, is my Brood prepared for combat?}

Her direct subordinate, Broodmother of her Brood, gave a telepathic nod. {We will have advanced organisms hit the ground first, and we can have a Hive Cluster established within the hour.}

{Stukov, is our secret weapon ready?}

{Yes, it is,} the commander of the Swarm's infested forces had been eager for this attack, {This attack will fill the nightmares of the Batarians for years to come.}

Along the way, Kerrigan met up with the only lieutenant who wasn't connected to the hive mind. "Dehaka, is your pack gathered?"

Over the last few years, the Primal had changed; his severed arm had regenerated, and the smaller extra arm on his right side had morphed into a poisonous stinger that could be fired at close range.

"My pack hungers for Essence," Dehaka growled in anticipation, "We gather much Essence from this war."

Kerrigan nodded. "If the Council doesn't back down soon, you'll probably get more."

"This is good." Dehaka couldn't smile, but Kerrigan could feel the satisfaction in his tone.

{Izsha, are the Broodmothers prepared?}

{They are, my Queen,} Izsha replied, {We await only your command.}

Kerrigan and Dehaka arrived at the nerve-center, where they were joined by Izsha, Zagara and Stukov. The Queen of Blades took another moment to gaze upon Khar'shan.

"Unleash the Swarm."

…

For what it was worth, the Batarian fleet put up a valiant fight; though outnumbered ten thousand to one, they refused to back down, even self-destructing in the hope of taking a few more enemies with them.

Despite killing thousands of Mutalisks, Corruptors and Brood Lords, along with several Leviathans, there was no way to stop the Swarm from landing on Khar'shan. Anti-air defenses destroyed countless drop sacs, but for every one they stopped, another three made it through. Within hours, dozens of Hive Clusters had formed, and millions of Zerg now crawled, slithered or stomped across the planet's surface.

By the time Kerrigan herself landed on Khar'shan, four cities had fallen, prisoners and slaves were being moved off-world, and Stukov was hard at work preparing for the final attack on the capital city. The Queen of Blades watched idly as a pair of Zerglings dragged away a dead Batarian to be converted into biomass, but was drawn out of her distraction by Zagara's approach.

The Broodmother bowed before speaking. {My Queen, we have discovered something while clearing out the last of the resistance from the latest city. It was not a weapon, but…}

"Let me see it," Kerrigan commanded. A moment later, a Drone floated over, a small silver, egg-shaped device clutched in one pincer. It was large enough that Kerrigan needed both hands to lift it.

"It's some kind of spy-drone," she said after a moment, "It's still on, so whoever sent it is still watching."

{Should we destroy it?} Zagara asked.

Kerrigan considered that for a moment, then shook her head. "No, I want the Council to know what they will face if they don't toe the line. Have a Drone take this and follow behind the first wave; that should get the message across."

Zagara nodded. {I understand. If we are to prepare for the threat that Tassadar mentioned, we cannot waste time on this war. Keeping the Council at bay through fear will work in our favor.}

Kerrigan smiled. "It seems you've remembered my lessons about vision. Well done. Now go and prepare to hit the outlying cities; we'll save the capital for last. I'll join you soon, but I want to send a message to our spying friends first."

{Of course, my Queen,} Zagara said, bowing again, {For the Swarm!}

When the Broodmother was gone, Kerrigan turned the spy-drone so that its camera could face her.

"Listen up," she hissed, "You're going to see what happens when you interfere in our affairs. Be grateful that we didn't come for _you_ first."

…

**Omega**

Aria T'Loak was not happy, which confused her lieutenants; after all, she'd just secured a contract with the Council to supply their forces with a huge supply of refined Element Zero, netting tens of millions of credits. On any other day, Aria would be sitting back in Afterlife, basking in the glow of credits that she didn't even obtain illegally.

But not today.

Aria had been following the news, and none of it was good. The Alliance was running roughshod over the Council forces, and even though the Terrans and Protoss were starting to slow down, they still had the initiative. While Aria couldn't care less what happened in Council space, it wasn't until the credits had transferred that she realized that she'd put a giant target on her station.

Rather than invest the credits in worthwhile ventures, Aria had hired hundreds of mercenaries from across the Terminus, and turned Omega into a hasty fortress. Every instinct she had screamed that trouble was brewing, and over the centuries, Aria had learned to trust her instincts.

While outsiders might see Omega as a disorganized mess, it was surprisingly orderly when the Queen put her mind to it. Those who didn't have the equipment to fight were moved to deeper levels or evacuated entirely. The shouts and music that once filled most of the station were replaced by gruff orders and moving equipment. The only place that retained any normalcy was Afterlife, where the mercenaries would come to blow off steam when they were off-duty, but even the dancers were tense, so they were soon replaced with more alcohol.

For three days after the contract was signed, Omega held its breath. If a fleet of Battlecruisers appeared over anyone else's home, Aria would have felt smug vindication; as it was, when that fleet showed up, all she felt was grim anticipation. It had been too long since she'd had a real fight.

"Aria," a gruff Turian said, tapping at his omni-tool, "We're receiving a transmission from the lead ship."

"Patch it through," Aria ordered, and a hologram of a Terran female appeared from an emitter nearby.

The Terran certainly didn't look the part of a Dominion officer; she wore a mismatched outfit of light armor and combat fatigues. A bandolier of grenades intersected with a single shoulder-pad, while a pistol rested in a holster on her thigh. Physically, she seemed extremely fit, and in the prime of her life, if Aria's limited experience with Terrans was anything to go by. What made this Terran so odd was her face; the area around her right eye was burned, and the eye itself was replaced with a black cybernetic replacement, its pupil glowing a baleful red. Her spiky hair—dyed pink, of all things!—was kept from falling over her eyes by a pair of goggles.

Not one to be intimidated, or one for niceties, Aria spoke first. "Who the hell are you?"

The Terran shook her head in mock-reproach. "So rude. Very well, if we're being direct, my name is Mira Han, commander of Mira's Marauders. Now that I've introduced myself, it's your turn."

"Aria T'Loak, ruler of Omega."

"Such a nice title," Mira said mockingly, "Anyway, down to business. The Dominion has graciously hired us to prevent you from giving the Council all of that Element Zero you promised them. Surrender your supply of Eezo, and I promise that no one will die."

Aria snarled. "Like hell I'm rolling over to some primitive ape! You're new here, so I'll let you know the one rule on Omega: Don't fuck with Aria. You want to take anything from me, you'll have to fight for it."

Mira shrugged. "Have it your way, darling. Believe it or not, I was going to play nice, and I don't do that often. Just ask my husband."

"Bring it on," Aria said hotly, then cut the link and turned to her lieutenants. "Tell the fleet to engage the Terrans; blow 'em out of the sky!"

…

The first part of what would be known as the Omega Siege lasted far longer than most space-battles between the Alliance and the Council. When she'd begun preparing her defenses, Aria had called in a few favors to learn about Terran capabilities. While her ragtag collection of pirate and mercenary ships didn't stand a chance against the Battlecruisers in head-to-head fight, they were certainly more maneuverable. They also outnumbered the Marauders' vessels, with fifty capital ships to their ten. Using hit-and-run tactics, they were able to damage several of the Battlecruisers, and more than once, were able to dodge Yamato cannon strikes.

Unfortunately, they were eventually driven off or destroyed; the Battlecruisers launched swarms of Vikings and Wraiths, and the cloaking of the latter quickly disabled the weapons of enemy capital ships, allowing the former to move in and wreak havoc nearly unopposed. The Battlecruisers then used their missile pods to smash aside squadrons of enemy fighters and finishing off larger, damaged vessels.

After nearly eight hours, the battle around Omega was over; the damaged Battlecruisers fell back to begin repairs, while the rest began bombarding the station's outer defenses. However, Omega was so massive that the only way to win was to land troops and take over the station the hard way.

The first wave of Marauders was launched in drop pods; because the outer defenses were cleared out by the Battlecruisers, there was no intercepting fire as the pods approached. There were still several squads of Aria's troops waiting, along with manned and unmanned turrets. Had the invading force been typical Dominion Marines, most would have been shredded.

The first infantry skirmish was not made of average Marines, however; Mira employed a vast number of War Pigs, experienced mercenaries with better equipment and hundreds of hours of combat experience each. Their combat shields took plenty of fire, but most of the mercs were able to weather the storm long enough to get into cover. Their own fire got Aria's troops to duck behind their own cover, which was the point. Mira's Vikings escorted squadrons of Medivacs down; while the transports dropped off their passengers, the fighters transformed into their walker-mode, adding their own fire to that of the War Pigs. The combined fire allowed the Devil Dog Firebats to close the distance and force Aria's troops out of cover or be burned alive. The Hammer Securities, enhanced Marauders, made sure the retreating forces didn't entertain notions of turning around, chasing them out with volleys of grenades.

With the beachhead secure, Mira's Marauders began landing the rest of their forces. Within hours, forward outposts had been established, and the mercenaries had made several probing attacks, mostly to dissuade Aria's soldiers from thinking about counterattacking, buying time to secure their own position. By the time the first day of fighting was done, Mira's forces controlled less than five percent of Omega, but they had still accomplished what had been thought impossible for centuries—they'd challenged the station's ruler, and hadn't been crushed.

…

**Khar'shan**

It wasn't until the end of the Swarm's rampage across the Batarian homeworld that those in Council space saw the Zerg's most terrifying weapon. During the campaign, several STG spy-drones had captured footage of the Swarm tearing through the fortified cities, and most of the Zerg creatures' functions had been determined. The only one that remained a mystery was the creature called the Infestor; recordings showed it ingesting wounded Batarians, but the purpose still eluded those watching. All that was known was that the Infestors had collected thousands of Batarians by themselves, and hundreds of thousands more had been brought to them by other Zerg.

The mystery was revealed during the assault on the capital city. Built into the side of a mountain and reinforced by a flood of surviving soldiers, the Batarians had prepared themselves for their last stand. When the Swarm surrounded the city, there were so many of the creatures that it was impossible to see the ground below them. The few civilians and even officers that suggested they surrender were immediately executed by firing-squad.

The Infestors moved up first, regurgitating hundreds of green blobs. Each blob burst open to reveal a Batarian, but unlike any normal Batarian; their armor was broken open by spikes and tentacles, while their rifles had been fused to one arm. They staggered forward, firing wildly as soon as they got into range of the city's defenses; the only reason they made it that far was because the defenders had at first been confused, then too horrified to attack. Once bullets began pelting their positions, however, their training took over, and they quickly mowed down the infested. Their armor was compromised, and their shields weren't functioning, so they were easy targets.

They were only an example that Kerrigan wanted to show her enemies; the true attack started now.

The Swarm parted ranks to allow even more infested Batarians to come forth; since invading Batarian space, they'd been infesting any of the four-eyed aliens that hadn't surrendered or had been killed. From some estimates by Izsha, it seemed that the Swarm had infested over a fifth of the entire species; they had been placed under the command of Stukov, who had added them to the infested Terrans he already controlled. The Swarm no longer infested Terrans, but there were hundreds of thousands of them that could still be used as cannon fodder.

Between the old infested and the new, over five million of Stukov's 'troops' shambled towards the capital city. Artillery opened fire, but there was no way to kill them all before they were in range of the infantry. Hundreds of thousands of Batarians defended the capital city, but they could only kill so many of the infested before their line was hit; Batarians began dying, either from bullets or by being clawed to death.

With the front line tied up, the Swarm attacked the artillery with Mutalisks and Brood Lords. Though the fragile Zerg fliers were brought down by anti-air defenses, their sacrifice and that of the infested was all the Swarm needed to bring in waves of Banelings.

The suicidal Zerg rolled their way to the walls; while some were destroyed by the desperate Batarians, many reached their target and detonated, slathering the wall with acid. Despite the damage, the wall held, much to the Batarians' relief.

And then the Ultralisks attacked.

So far, the Zerg had held back their massive killers, as they weren't needed to overwhelm the Batarians. With the capital, however, Kerrigan wanted to make a statement; she wanted the Council to know just how powerful the Swarm was, and how provoking the Zerg was an unbelievably stupid move.

Perhaps, subconsciously, she wanted to remind the rest of the Alliance of that as well; there was still far too much bad blood between all of them for Kerrigan to let the Dominion and Protoss think that the Zerg wouldn't fight them, if necessary.

The Ultralisks thundered across the rocky field towards the capital, smashing aside any infested that happened to be in the way, before hitting the outer defenses. The massive Kaiser blades obliterated any soldier in range, while the Noxious strain of Ultralisks released their toxic fumes, sending hundreds more choking to their deaths.

When the Ultralisks hit the walls of the city, the weakened defenses could hold the Swarm back no longer. Each Ultralisk crashed through the wall with earsplitting roars. They were soon joined by thousands, then tens of thousands of other Zerg; some remained at the wall to widen the holes, but the rest began rampaging through the streets, slaughtering any Batarian who tried to stop them. Many were dragged, screaming, to the waiting Infestors, to replace the lost infested; more than a few killed themselves, rather than suffer that fate.

Within minutes of the Swarm's entrance of the capital, the city was filled with the screams of the dying, explosions and the victorious roars of the Zerg. Nowhere was safe; Ultralisks, Zerglings and the infested flooded the streets, while millions of fliers blocked out the sky and thousands of Roaches tunneled their way under the city, emerging within bunkers and in the lower levels of structures. The outer levels of the city were soon covered in Creep and Zerg bio-structures; the only place that had a growing level of Batarians was where the Swarm was shepherding a mass of terrified civilians and surrendered soldiers. Once the battle was over, these prisoners would be placed in Overlords and moved to Torfan, where their fates would be decided after the war.

When the battle began winding down, the only are that offered any real resistance was the palace in the center of the city. Heavy cannons bombarded anything that came near it, and a comprehensive net of anti-aircraft guns shot down any fliers. Attacking from below was also out, as the foundations beneath the city were too thick to tunnel through quickly.

The Swarm wasn't under any timetable, and they weren't worried about being countered by outside forces, but Kerrigan was still broadcasting Khar'shan's fall. She wanted her victory to be absolute, both on Khar'shan and across the wider galaxy.

The Queen of Blades made the decision to lead the final attack herself.

…

**Sh'rai**

The Turian colony had held out against the Alliance better than most Council-held worlds; superior knowledge of the hilly and wooded terrain, along with hit-and-run tactics, had nullified the Dominion's numbers, at least until Siege Tanks, Banshees and Thors started leveling the countryside. The Turians' cover was obliterated, as were the Turians that failed to retreat in time. The tactics were obvious and unsubtle, but at least it was understandable; the Turians would have done the same thing if the roles were reversed. The only thing that made the Turians a little nervous was the handful of Protoss ships in orbit with the Terran fleet; aside from driving off the Turian battlegroup, they hadn't done anything. It was considered that the Protoss were preparing their own ground forces, which hadn't been fought yet; they were an unknown, and no soldier liked the unknown.

That didn't mean that the Turians were giving up without a fight.

"Come on, come on…" Corporal Septimus whispered as he peered through his scope. He'd been waiting, hidden by some low-lying brush, for the next Terran patrol; he knew he'd only get a few shots before the Terrans zeroed in on his position, but he didn't care. If he threw off this patrol, they'd call in help, and that would weaken the Terrans' overall line; then the Turian armor could smash past the Terran infantry.

With the speed the Terrans had been advancing, there hadn't been time for them to set up their usual defenses, relying instead on fast-moving patrols; but they were spreading out too far, too fast, and that would be their downfall, especially if Turian reinforcements arrived soon.

"There you are," Septimus said softly, as two squads of Marines, a squad of Firebats and a trio of Goliaths came around the hill across from the one he was hiding on.

It took some searching for him to identify the leader of the patrol; in their armor, all Terrans looked the same, but he eventually found him, a Marine whom the rest kept turning to. Septimus held his breath, then fired; the round went clean through the Terran's visor, creating a fist-sized hole and turning his head into paste. Septimus killed another two Marines before they figured out where he was, and it was then that he decided to move. He sent the signal to Sh'rai Command to begin the attack, but just before he cleared the hill, he felt something hot and sharp brush against his throat.

{For Shakuras,} the Dark Templar hissed, before he decapitated the Turian. He glanced down at the corpse for a moment, then sent a message to both Protoss and Dominion forces to begin countering the counterattack.

…

When the Protoss attacked, it was with all the flair and power that they were known for. Turian tanks fired at Immortals, only for their shots to be effortlessly stopped by the enhanced shields, while the walkers' cannons ripped holes in the tanks' armor.

Turian infantry were faced with Zealots, who closed distances in the blink of an eye and ripped apart anyone in reach; the infantry were also outflanked by teleporting Stalkers, who blew away anyone they hit before disappearing. Invisible Dark Templars wreaked havoc behind Turian lines, cutting throats and destroying equipment. High Templars unleashed psionic storms that left only charred corpses behind.

The Protoss attack was so shocking that it briefly kept all of the Turians' focus on them; that short window was more than enough for the Terrans to push deeper into Turian territory, taking locations that were previously thought safe from the Alliance. What the Turians didn't know was that the Protoss had been scanning the planet since they'd driven off the Turian ships; with scans fine-tuned to be able to detect a single Zerg spore buried deep below a planet's crust, the Turians didn't have a chance.

After five days of intense fighting, the Turians surrendered, only holding out long enough to send footage of the Protoss in action to the Council. Rather than being furious, when the Protoss found out what the Turians had done, they had only laughed.

…

**Omega**

Aria scowled as she read another report. The Terran mercenaries had overtaken another checkpoint, but at least it had taken them twice as long as the last time. If her defenses kept tightening, Aria was certain that she could keep Mira's forces at bay indefinitely.

Unfortunately, by the end of the siege's second day, Mira's Marauders had captured twenty percent of Omega, and had set up fortifications to prevent a counterattack. The fact that there were Siegebreaker Siege Tanks guarding major ground-based entrances and Missile Turrets keeping the skies clear, it was unlikely that Aria would be able to take back her station with the forces she had available. The best she could do was keep Mira from taking the rest.

At least for now. Aria was nothing if not determined, and as an Asari, she had time on her side, while the Humans didn't, but she wasn't going to just sit there and wait for the Terrans to die of old age. If the Terrans wanted her station, her _kingdom_, she'd make their lives a living hell while they were here.

"Ma'am," a Batarian said respectfully, "Scouts are reporting six enemy squads on their way here. Marines, Firebats and Marauders."

Aria nodded and suppressed a sigh. Afterlife wasn't the most defensible position, and was more of a symbol of power than anything else. Though that symbol was falling into someone else's hands for the time being, Aria was determined to take it back. It wouldn't be today, it might not even be within the year, but her kingdom _would_ be hers once again.

…

When Mira's Marauders broke into Afterlife, they were expecting a fight, even if it was a fighting retreat on their enemies' part. Instead, the only enemy presence they found was a few parting shots their way as Aria's forces fled deeper into Omega.

"Mira, ma'am," a War Pig said into his comms, "We've secured Afterlife, but there was no resistance; Aria's troops are gone."

"_They'll be back," _Mira said cheerfully, _"We just need to be ready for them. Hold your position; I'll be right there."_

A few minutes later, while the mercenaries secured their hold on Afterlife, Mira arrived. She paid no mind to her troops as she leisurely strolled up to the room that overlooked the entire club. After nodding appreciatively at the expensive décor, she sat down on the couch and sighed.

"I can see why Aria likes this place," she commented to herself, "I could get used to being here."

"Excuse me, Ma'am," a War Pig, the same one that had called her before, said as he approached her, "Tenth squad is reporting a counterattack in the southern outpost. Lots of infantry, with sniper support."

Mira sighed. "Never a dull moment… just the way I like it."

…

**Khar'shan**

Kerrigan was oddly reminded of her final attack on Korhal when she conquered the Hegemony's palace. When a massive blast of psionic power had ripped down the gates, she had led the way for the Swarm, becoming a whirlwind of death and destruction as she tore through the elite Batarian soldiers in her way.

_Kill them all, _she urged her Zerg, _no Batarian leaves this place alive._

In response to her commands, the Swarm went into a frenzy, diving over each other in their attempts to kill the Batarians. At this point, the defenders knew they had lost, but had become determined to sell their lives dearly. Even when heat sinks gave out and guns broke down from constant use, the Batarians simply used them as clubs, fighting in hand-to-hand almost as savagely as the Zerg themselves.

Despite their bravery, the Swarm would not be deterred. The Zerg could afford to be so careless with their lives; even if a dozen of them died for every Batarian, they still outnumbered them a million to one.

As the Zerg tore through the palace, they destroyed any equipment they could find; eventually, the cannons outside were silenced, allowing the Swarm to bring its overwhelming air power to bear, breaking through the top of the palace. Overlords dropped off packs of Zerg into the upper levels; trapped between the Zerg from both above and below, the remaining Batarians were quickly crushed.

Kerrigan spent a moment to study the carnage with a satisfied eye, then gestured to the Drone that had been near her for the last several hours. It had been carrying the spy-drone in its claws since the beginning of the battle. Kerrigan stepped in front of the camera and crossed her arms.

"I hope I've made my point clear."

With the slightest effort, Kerrigan telekinetically crushed the camera and dropped it to the floor.

…

**The Citadel**

"This has to end."

Tevos wasn't sure what was more shocking—that the Council was losing so much so fast, or that Sparatus had been the one to say that.

"I agree," Valern said, "If we lose any more worlds, it may take decades to recover."

"Not to mention all of the lives lost," Tevos said archly, and Valern had the good grace to look sheepish.

"We should start with an offer of truce," Sparatus said in a resigned voice, "We can agree to all of the terms the Alliance offered before the attack, save for giving them Saren. We've paid enough blood; I can't, in good conscience, offer them more."

"We can offer an apology to our own people as well," Tevos said, "The only way we're keeping our jobs after this is if we acknowledge what happened and tell them that we will strive to do better. Beyond that, we'll just have to hope that the public believes us."

"After what happened to the Batarians," Sparatus said quietly, "They'll probably feel safer with established Councilors, rather than the chaos that will follow a change in leadership."

The reminder of the Batarians made Tevos and Valern flinch, which was probably Sparatus' intention. The Batarian slaughter had been leaked across Council space, and now everyone knew what the Zerg were capable of; most people were just glad that the Swarm had focused on the Batarians, and hadn't helped the rest of the Alliance. Hundreds of thousands of deaths would have become millions.

After getting over their shock of the massacre, the Council had tried to calculate how many Batarians had survived; to their horror, they estimated that less than fifteen million of them survived.

What had kept horror from turning into outright panic were the hundreds of transports coming out of Batarian space; each ship was filled with former slaves. Whatever sympathy the Batarians had gained from the rest of the galaxy had been offset by the rumors of slavery being publicly confirmed; more people were touched by the images of people weeping as they reunited with friends or relatives that were thought dead. It also helped the Alliance's image; after all, they didn't have to help the former slaves. Not for the first time, Sparatus had imagined putting a bullet into the Batarian ambassador's head when he saw thousands of innocent people taste freedom for the first time in years.

Unfortunately, that daydream would probably stay out of Sparatus' reach for a long time. With the Hegemony's leadership presumed dead, the highest ranking politician was Ambassador Jath'Amon, who had demanded that the Council provide gross sums of money and supplies for his people. Before the Council even had time to think about it, they had been contacted by the Alliance, who said that all decisions regarding the Batarians would have to be put on hold until the war was over, and any attempt to aid them would result in an elevation of hostilities. A fuming Jath'Amon had retreated to the Batarian embassy and hadn't been heard from since.

"Get in touch with STG," Tevos said, looking at Valern, "Tell them to get every sample and shred of data on the Zerg they have and prepare to hand it over. Sparatus, begin issuing stand-down orders to all our military forces."

"You mean the ones that actually did any fighting?" Sparatus said dryly, and now it was Tevos' turn to blush; the Asari contribution in actual soldiers was a single team of Commandos that were killed two hours after they were deployed, though they could claim that most of their efforts were devoted to helping the growing stream of refugees. Still, even the Salarians had fought in open warfare in several locations.

Despite the comment, Sparatus began typing on his omni-tool, as did Valern, though both looked like they had swallowed something distasteful.

For her part, Tevos began writing out a rough outline of what the Council would have to say to the public. Unlike most of the time, many of their platitudes would be genuine; they hadn't meant to start a war, especially one that had gone so badly for them in such a short time.

"We should also speak to the Alliance," she said quietly, "To tell them that we're… surrendering."

"It's not a surrender," Sparatus said sharply, "We have a rough estimate of their ships; we outnumber the Protoss and Dominion over ten to one, even more than we thought. But this war didn't need to happen, and the loss of lives would be unacceptable, especially since everyone believes that we were in the wrong."

_Which we were, _hovered in their minds, but it wasn't said.

Tevos sighed. "I'll establish contact with the Alliance."

It took almost an hour for the holograms of the Alliance leaders to appear, probably because Kerrigan was getting off of Khar'shan and needed to head somewhere that could send a transmission. At least it gave the Council time to school their features into calm expressions.

"Your Majesties," Tevos said, nodding at Kerrigan and Valerian, then turning to Artanis. "Hierarch. We would like to offer a formal declaration of truce; our people do not want any further conflict with the Koprulu Alliance."

Valerian raised an eyebrow. _"Are you willing to accept our terms from before this conflict?"_

"There is one issue that we will have to discuss," Sparatus said, "but otherwise, we will accept your terms."

"We would be willing to meet you aboard the Citadel," Valern said, "So that we can finalize the cessation of hostilities."

"_No," _Kerrigan snapped, _"Aside from security reasons, we've got reasons for not setting foot on the Citadel ever again. You'll meet with us."_

_{A fleet will arrive outside the Citadel,} _Artanis said, _{You will board the _Spear of Adun_, and we will go over terms.}_

"_This isn't negotiable," _Valerian added, _"and you will have to decide now."_

The Councilors glanced at each other, then nodded.

"As long as we are permitted a security escort," Tevos said, "I'd suggest we all come unarmed, but since your 'psionics' make taking a weapon unnecessary, bringing an armed guard on our part seems fair."

Valerian gave a careless shrug. _"Very well. We'll tell our forces to stand down. You can expect us to arrive within the week."_

The holograms of Valerian and Artanis vanished, but Kerrigan's remained.

"_You saw what the Swarm did to the Batarians," _she warned, _"Don't give me a reason to focus on your peoples. Be straight with us, and we'll do the same."_

Her hologram faded; if she had remained for a few more seconds, Kerrigan would have seen that her threat was unneeded. From the looks on the Councilors' faces, the threat of the Zerg would haunt their nightmares for a long time.

"Well then," Tevos said in a voice that was far calmer than how she felt or looked, "We'd best prepare; we have a surrender to organize."

…

In the Citadel's main hospital, Saren lay on his bed and fumed. Everything was going against him; the war with the Alliance had gone badly, Sparatus had hinted that Saren would be given low-profile assignments that were _far _away from Alliance space, and he'd heard a rumor that the Council was giving up the fight.

_Cowards, _he thought, his talons—both organic and those of his new cybernetic arm—clenching the sheets in fury. If the damned doctors hadn't been adamant that he stay in the hospital to finish his physical therapy, he'd have been out there, winning the most important battles.

The more he thought about it, the more he hated the Alliance; in a single day, they'd ruined his reputation, not to mention his body. The only consolation he had was that his new arm was far stronger than his old one, and his new eyes had plenty of uses. The Alliance would regret injuring him; he would use his new tools to destroy them.

A beep on his omni-tool momentarily cut off his rage; he looked down and saw that he had a message waiting on his high-priority message box. There were very few who had access to that box; perhaps it was the Council, telling him to prepare for an operation, and that the surrender to the Alliance was just a ruse.

Saren opened the message and found that it was in text.

_SPECTRE Saren Arterius._

Saren raised a brow-ridge as he typed back. _Who are you? What do you want?_

The return message was almost instant. _You seek the destruction of the group known as the Alliance. We wish to aid you._

Saren scoffed. _If you know who I am, then you know what kind of resources I have at my disposal. What can you offer me?_

Two seconds later, Saren received a list of what his mysterious contact could definitely give him, along with probable and possible assets. With every line he read, Saren felt equal parts fear and anticipation. Ships, soldiers, weapons, resources, all of which was far better than the Council could offer him; if he had all of that, he would certainly have a chance at revenge.

Still, Saren was cautious as he typed. _You still haven't told me who you are._

This time, the response was a full ten seconds later, and it chilled him to the core.

_We are Geth._

Saren's first impulse was to end all contact, but something, some impulse brushing through his mind, made him pause; the Geth had impressive technology, and lacked the fallibility of organic soldiers, and the Alliance had AIs on their side, and Saren wasn't above using the same weapons as his enemies. Besides, the Council had already betrayed him, so why shouldn't he betray them?

_Set up a meeting, _he typed, his mind already going through contacts who might want to support his efforts, _I want to meet whoever's in charge._

When the Geth replied, Saren allowed himself to smile for the first time since his mission in the Elysium system.

_Codex Entry: Alliance/Council Wartime Relations_

_During the beginning of the conflict between the Koprulu Alliance and the Citadel Council, which the Terrans called the Backyard Skirmish, while the Council called it the Koprulu Contact War, relations between both sides were almost nonexistent._

_However, once it became clear that the Alliance was not intentionally harming civilians and was freeing victims of Batarian slavery, attitudes towards the Alliance—specifically Terrans and Protoss—began to warm. Feelings about the Zerg range from caution to outright terror._

_For their part, Alliance attitudes towards the Council are mostly indifferent; the people of the Alliance wish mainly to be left alone. Reports of former Batarian slaves asking for and receiving sanctuary in Alliance space are unconfirmed, though an image from an STG spy-drone revealed an Asari moving into a home on a Terran colony. This has raised doubt as to the Council's effectiveness for Batarian-related issues._

**I just want everyone to know that I am really sorry for the late update. Between life, school and maybe getting a writing job, I found myself unable to finish this chapter when I wanted to. If it's any consolation, I'll try to have the next chapter up next week.**

**So, things to mention… the Batarians are screwed, the Council is waving the white flag before too many people get killed, and Saren is making plans. I know that the war seemed pretty short, but look at it from the Council's perspective: enemies whom they can't effectively counter are smacking them around, and one of their allies just got eaten. It's time to cut your losses.**

**Next chapter: The Council meets with the Alliance once again. Decisions are made, fates are decided, and the start of a revolution… becomes an evolution.**

**En Taro Muffin!**


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